Patterns of drinking and driving offenses among nightclub patrons in Brazil.
Brazil has a strict drinking and driving law known as the Brazilian "Dry Law". The aim of the present study was to investigate characteristics associated with the breaking of the Brazilian traffic law, on drinking and driving, at nightclub exit among a representative sample of nightclub patrons in the city of São Paulo, Brazil.



Portal survey realized with a two-stage cluster sampling survey design to collect data from 2422 patrons at the entrance and 1822 patrons at the exit of 31 nightclubs in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. Patrons' breath alcohol concentrations (BrACs) at the entrance and exit of the nightclubs were categorized according to the law as either a "traffic offense" or a "traffic offense and crime". Weighted multinomial logistic regression was used to analyze factors associated with different patterns of drinking and driving offenses.



Of the subjects, 16.5% (n=369) were identified as driving patrons at the entrance and exit of the nightclubs. At entry, 80.1% of the patrons had a zero BrAC, 14.9% had a BrAC meeting the traffic offense criteria and 5.0% had a BrAC meeting the traffic offense and crime criteria. Women were less likely to have BrACs meeting the traffic offense criteria. At nightclub exit, 63.4% of patrons had maintained a zero BrAC, 24.7% had a BrAC that had increased and now met the traffic offense and crime criteria, and 11.9% had a decreased or stable BrAC. An increased BrAC was more frequently identified in patrons who were men, were single, and had used illicit drugs inside the nightclub.



Despite the existence of a strict law regarding drinking and driving, a significant proportion of nightclub patrons in the city of São Paulo had violated this law, suggesting a perception of impunity and need for law enforcement.
Department of Preventive Medicine, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Rua Botucatu, 740, 4° andar, São Paulo, SP, Brazil; Department of Physiological Sciences, Santa Casa School of Medical Sciences, R Cesário Motta Jr, 61, São Paulo, SP, Brazil. Electronic address: gabrielaaw@usp.br.
Gabriela A
GA
Wagner
Department of Preventive Medicine, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Rua Botucatu, 740, 4° andar, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
Zila M
ZM
Sanchez
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D001334:Automobile Driving / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D001944:Breath Tests; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D003415:Crime / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000066448:Driving Under the Influence / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D013287:Illicit Drugs; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012737:Sex Factors; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
D013287:Illicit Drugs
Alcohol; Brazil; Drinking and driving; Nightclubs; Traffic law