Evaluation of the performance of Alcohol and Drug Awareness Courses provided in the ACT

Driving while impaired by alcohol or drugs is a significant road safety issue. As of November 2011, drivers in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) who have been found guilty of a drink or drug driving offence are required to undertake an Alcohol and Drug Awareness Course (ADAC) before being issued with a restricted or probationary licence. This study evaluated the performance of the ADACs. Key performance indicators on their provision (e.g. enrolments) were obtained from the ACT Government for 2012 to 2017. Surveys of knowledge and attitudes towards drink and drug driving were given to 94 attendees immediately before and after ADACs between August and November 2017. Data on drink driving detections in the ACT between 2002 and 2016 were also obtained from the ACT Government. Completion rates for ADAC attendees increased from 94% in 2012 to 98% in 2016 and 99% in the first half of 2017. Results of the surveys suggested that the courses improved attitudes towards drink driving, although this result may be unreliable due to methodological limitations. The limitations of the surveys may also have contributed to the finding that knowledge of drink and drug driving information did not improve. Finally, the introduction of ADACs has correlated with a reduction in drink driving detections in the ACT between 2012 and 2016. However, the reduction is also likely to be at least partially due to other factors (e.g. other drink driving countermeasures). Based on these findings, the ADAC program has been performing well since its inception.