Alcohol has long been thought to cause increased risk taking and more reckless behavior in drivers. This paper discusses simulator and full-scale driving tests used to determine the validity of these beliefs.

The risk acceptance behavior of each subject was tested prior to their driving, and subjects were divided into high- and low-risk groups. Their decision making and risk taking behavior was then tested on typical driving/ decision making tasks. Each subject was tested at three levels of alcohol (0, 0.10, and 0.15 percent BAC);​ and both ascending and descending mid-levels were tested in the simulator.

This paper discusses the experimental methods, and their appropriateness to this type of research. The results are presented and discussed. Finally the implication of the results on traffic safety are discussed.