Impacts of Subsidized Ridesharing on Drunk Driving, Alcohol Consumption, and Mobility

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Driving Drunk; Alcohol Drinking
• Interventions: Behavioral: online shopping voucher; Behavioral: ridesharing voucher

• Registration Number: NCT04949711
• Lead Sponsor: Columbia University

Brief Summary

The purpose of this research study is to understand people's alcohol use in public places and their risks for harm. The overall goal of this study is to test the effects of subsidized ridesharing as an intervention to reduce self-reported alcohol-impaired driving, along with alcohol consumption and changes to mobility.

Detailed Description

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for people aged 13-25 years in the US, and approximately 31% of all fatal crashes involved some alcohol use. Several peer-reviewed studies have found that ridesharing was associated with fewer alcohol-involved crashes and DUI arrests. Theories of behavioral economics provide a clear theoretical mechanism by which ridesharing will reduce alcohol-involved motor vehicle crashes compared to other private transportation. However, while ridesharing may be an effective intervention to reduce alcohol-involved crashes, it may simultaneously increase alcohol consumption. This study will assess the impacts of subsidized ridesharing on impaired driving, alcohol consumption, and mobility. Participants will be randomized to either receive a rideshare voucher or an online shopping voucher, and effects on alcohol impaired driving and alcohol consumption will be measured. A GPS sub-group will use a custom smartphone application for GPS tracking to measure mobility.

Study Timeline

• Study First Submitted: 2021-06-25
• Study First Submitted QC: 2021-06-25
• Study First Posted: 2021-07-02
• Study Start: 2022-05-01
• Primary Completion: 2025-03-14
• Status Verified: 2025-04
• Study Completion: 2025-04-04
• Last Update Submitted: 2025-04-10
• Last Update Posted: 2025-04-13

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 7034

Inclusion Criteria

• ≥ 21 years old
• Reside in a study city
• Have a driver's license
• Have access to a motor vehicle
• Have consumed alcohol in a bar in the last 30 days
• Own a smartphone
• Read English

Exclusion Criteria

• Non-English speaking participants

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Control	online shopping voucher	Participants will be asked to complete 3 surveys over 2 weeks to collect in information on their alcohol use and about themselves, and receive online shopping voucher.
Intervention	ridesharing voucher	Participants will be asked to complete 3 surveys over 2 weeks to collect in information on their alcohol use and about themselves, and receive ridesharing vouchers.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Change in the alcohol impaired driving incidents	Baseline, 1 week follow-up, 2 week follow-up	Participants will provide two self-reported measures of impaired driving by indicating whether they "drove after drinking any alcohol" (driving after drinking) and "drove after drinking too much alcohol to drive safely" (driving while intoxicated) for each day during the previous 7 days.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Change in number of days in alcohol consumption	Baseline, 1 week follow-up, 2 week follow-up	Participants will be asked to state the number of drinks consumed on each day for the 7 previous days, and their responses will be used to calculate the frequency (defined as the number of drinking days) and the continued volume (defined as total number of drinks consumed after 1 drink on a drinking day) of drinking.
Average frequency of trips to alcohol outlets	Day 3 to Day 17 of study	Participants enrolled in the GPS sub-sample will be tracked and GPS records will be used measure exposure to alcohol outlets and mobility.
Average duration of trips to alcohol outlets	Day 3 to Day 17 of study	Participants enrolled in the GPS sub-sample will be tracked and GPS records will be used measure exposure to alcohol outlets and mobility.
Change in The Drinker Inventory of Consequences Score	Baseline, 1 week follow-up, 2 week follow-up	The Drinker Inventory of Consequences is a 45-item measure of alcohol-related consequences on which higher scores reflect greater alcohol consequences. It measures harms related to alcohol consumption within 5 sub-scales: physical consequences, intrapersonal consequences, social responsibility consequences, interpersonal consequences, and impulse control consequences.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Columbia University Irving Medical Center; 🇺🇸 New York, New York, United States