The Effect of Physical Activity on the Attitudes toward Engaging in Driving While Impaired by Alcohol

Abstract

This study investigated the effect of physical activity on the attitudes toward engaging in driving while impaired by alcohol among adults aged 18 years or older who reported consuming alcohol in the 30 days before the interview. This study conducted the multivariate logistic regression to examine the association between health behavior and attitudes toward driving while impaired by alcohol. Data about self-reported alcohol-impaired driving episodes and the majority of the variables presented in this study were taken from the 2020 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), a large-scale national health survey data and a cross-sectional state-level survey data set, collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The empirical results indicated that physical activity was associated with reduced engagement in alcohol-impaired driving. The estimated odds ratios from the multivariate logistic regression results were 0.87, 0.87, and 0.85 for overall, males, and females, respectively. In other words, respondents who participated in physical activities were less likely than respondents who were inactive to operate a motor vehicle when they were impaired by alcohol consumption. In short, physical activity was significantly associated with a decrease in the propensity toward engaging in driving while impaired by alcohol for alcohol drinkers.