Safe Driving April 13, 2014 Tom Case Chancellor University of Alaska Anchorage 3211 Providence Drive Anchorage,

Alaska 99577 Dear Mr. Case, I am pleased to inform you that I have successfully completed my research on the feasibility on the feasibility of creating the safe driving program at the University of Alaska Anchorage. I would like to thank you for allowing me to conduct my research on the topic because it is close to my heart. I started the feasibility report research through the University of Alaska Anchorage library database online. From the information I gathered through Academic Search Premier, I was able to create a survey and distribute it to my fellow classmates. I asked participants to complete the survey and in-turn, the recipients provided data to help me make a determination about the feasibility of this project. I was able to find that it is feasible to create a safe driving program for UAA. on college students actively engaging in driving under the influence and I believe that you will find the one I chose to be the most suited. The research I conducted and the information I found was informative. I am pleased to inform you that the research gathered is going to further show that finding a solution to drunk driving of college students at the University of Alaska Anchorage is imperative. I thank you for approving me the opportunity to research this topic and I hope that you discover that my findings are conclusive because it is feasible to have a safe driving program at the University of Alaska Anchorage.

Sincerely,

Jessica Konstantynowicz

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This is a good start, Jessica! There are some missing pieces below; for example, you need to actually cite your resources in text (as I have said several times, APA is a two-part system). Focus your introduction on the problem and your proposed solution. Focus your results section on answering your criteria questions. I have additional recommendations below, but you are on the right track toward completing your paper! 85/100

Feasibility of a Safe Driving Program at UAA: Feasibility Report Jessica Konstantynowicz University of Alaska Anchorage Spring 2014 Technical Writing April 8, 2014

SAFE DRIVING Abstract

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1,825 college students between the ages of 18 and 24 die every year from alcohol-related injuries from being intoxicated behind the wheel (Hingston, 2009). Driving under the influence is becoming a greater known habit rather than a greater known threat. Implementing a safe driving program at the University of Alaska Anchorage would provide college students the opportunity to get home safely. This report studied the relationship between the uses of alcohol compared to getting behind the wheel. Based on the research provided, the best solution for protecting the college students attending the University of Alaska Anchorage is to put in place a safe driving option My recommendations are included in this report.

SAFE DRIVING Table of Contents

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Abstract3 Introduction..5 Research Methods8 Results..9 Questionnaire.10 Conclusions....12 Recommendations..12 References..13 Appendix A Qualtrics Survey.14 List of Figures Figure 1-Journey of Positive Behavioral Interventions...6 Figure 2-What is your age9 Figure 3- Have you as a student of UAA, participated in driving under the influence.10 Figure 4-How many drinks did you consume before driving within a two-hour period....11

SAFE DRIVING Introduction

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On March 7, 2014, I received approval to conduct research on the feasibility of implementing a safe driving program for the University of Alaska Anchorage college students. The purpose of this study was to determine whether or not providing a safe driving program would be feasible. Included in this paper are the detailed results of my report. . Every year, 1,825 college students between the ages of 18 and 24 die from motor vehicle crashed due to the consumption of alcohol (Hingston, 2009). Students who participate in underage drinking are not thinking of the long-term consequences of their actions. Such as a DUI (Drinking under the influence) and how that can affect every aspect of a college students personal or professional life. Another consequence of drinking under the influence and driving is death I myself lost three friends to driving under the influence. If a system had been implemented, I strongly believe that the three of them would have stood a better chance of just getting home safely. The consumption of alcohol among college students is growing all over the United States. Students under the age of 21 are consuming alcohol, without thinking of long term consequences. If a child in the state of Alaska can receive his or her license at 16 years old and graduates around the age of 18 to begin the transition into college, the students are going to start trying to act like adults. This includes participating in adultlike activities since the students are not under a lot of supervision. During the transition of becoming an adult, students push the boundaries of what they can get away with, this includes but is not limited too driving under the influence. Miller, N.S. wrote from Drinking among college students that, During the past

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several years, the media has brought the problem of binge drinking to the attention of the public. However, binge drinking continues as a normal behavior among many college students (Miller, 2000). A study conducted showed that the age group of 17-23 was already at the stage of binge drinking as they entered college for the first year. Of these students, 93% said that they drove home after a night of drinking, (Foster, 2003). The figure below shows college students ages between 17 and 23. The figure demonstrates the intake of alcohol compared to age and also the intake of alcohol compared to driving. As the intake increases, so does the interest in driving impaired. Buggety, T. who wrote A Picture is WorthIn addition, approximately 2.8 million college students (ages 18 to 24) report driving under the influence of alcohol and over 1,800 die annually from unintentional alcohol-related injuries (Buggety, 2007). The graph alone demonstrates the severity of driving under the influence and why a program needs to be instituted to protect the college students of the University of Alaska Anchorage.

SAFE DRIVING Research Methods My research consisted of the following:

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I created a questionnaire through the program Qualtrics. The participants answering the study were asked about their age, gender, other demographics, if they had participated in driving under the influence, and if they would want a safe driving program at the University of Alaska Anchorage.

The survey contained 10 questions. There were 22 respondents to the Qualtrics Survey on a safe driving program. I received all of the data needed back from the respondents within a seven-day period.

Using the UAA/APU Consortium library, I searched for only academic journals containing information on driving under the influence.

I used several key functions including, but not limited too college students, driving under the influence,

alcohol consumption, and under 21. To keep the data as recent as possible, no information dating before the year 2000 was used.

I created visual aids in support of the information I gathered through the Qualtrics Survey to provide insight on the research provided.

The criteria questions that were graphed were What is your age? Have you as student of UAA, participated in driving under the influence? and

SAFE DRIVING Results

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Is it feasible to implement a safe driving program at UAA to preven deaths from drunk driving? To help determine the feasibility of this question, participants in the Spring 2014 technical writing class have been chosen to answer criteria question. The method used was a 10 questions asking about drunk driving, gender, and age to focus the survey. The results were yes, the participants actively are expose to drunk driving, the gender is more female than male (16 votes), than male (5 votes), and the age of the participants are mostly 16 to 25. The results show that the younger the student, the more likely they are to actively engage in drunk driving. My findings are that a safe driving program at UAA would be feasible The purpose of this study was to determine the feasibility of whether or not to implement a safe driving program for the University of Alaska Anchorage. In order to see if the topic is feasible or not, some basic questions needed to be answered first. Is the University of Alaska Anchorage interested in a safe driving program? Has this been tried before? Would the college students attending use this program?

After the survey was distributed and the results were seen, it is positive that the students of University of Alaska Anchorage would in fact use a safe driving program if it was available to them. In order to make sure that the information being given back was not biased in any way, I made sure not to know any of the students and also that there answers were kept in confidence. A breakdown of some of the questions and findings is listed below. Age Group: There were six age groups listed in the study, but the result fell into only three of the groups. In the age group of 16-25 there were 16 respondents, in the age

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KONSTANTYNOWICZ 9 group of 26-35 there were three respondents, and in the age group of 46-55 there were three respondents.

Gender: Of the 22 respondents, six of them were male and 16 of them were female.

There were also questions on the survey that pertained specifically to the feasibility of implementing a safe driving program for the University of Alaska Anchorage college students. One of the questions was have you, as a student of the University of Alaska Anchorage, participated in drinking and driving? Another was Is it feasible to create a safe driving program for the University of Alaska Anchorage? The table below shows the answers to what is your age? This question is valuable because it directly correlates to the information found through Academic Search Premier. 71 see APA for how to start a sentence with a number percent of the 100 percent who participated in the study, are in the same age group as those who more likely to drink and drive.

What is your age? Number 1 2 3 4 5 6 Answer 16-25 26-35 36-45 46-55 56-65 66-75 Total Response 16 3 0 3 0 0 22 Percentage 71% 14% 0% 14% 0% 0% 100%

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The bar graph below shows the answers to the question Have you, as a student of the University of Alaska Anchorage, participated in driving under the influence? As you can see, 17 of the 22 who participated in the study answered yes. In correlation, the number of students in the 16 to 25 age group contained 16 of the 22 participants. Have you as a student of UAA, participated in driving under the influence?
18 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 Yes No

The table below shows the answers to the question how many drinks did you consume before driving within a two hour period? According to the results, 14 of the 22 participants said that they never did, and eight of the 22 participants said after one to three drinks. This information shows that even after consuming alcohol, 8 students were willing to put their lives and others at risk after having even one drink. This proves that students of the University of Alaska Anchorage are willing to put their own lives as well the lives of others regardless of how many drinks any student has consumed.

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How many drinks did you consume before driving within a two-hour period? Number 1 2 3 4 5 Answer None 1-3 drinks 4-6 drinks 7-10 drinks More than 10 Total Response 14 8 0 0 0 22 Percent 60% 40% 0% 0% 0% 100%

Conclusions After analyzing all of the research collected, the following conclusions have been determined: The data from the Qualtrics Survey demonstrates that the college students of the University of Alaska Anchorage do indeed have a desire for a safe driving program. Research proves that drinking and driving is becoming a nation wide issue and an institution is going to have to make a first move towards recovery on the issue. Evidence shows that drinking and driving can lead to behavioral issues and at last resort, death. Recommendations Although a safe driving program is feasible and has been proven to be through the evidence provided, it is recommended that:

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KONSTANTYNOWICZ 12 Research on the economic structure of the program be developed Research on how to fund the program should also be uncovered A more detailed questionnaire given to the entire student body, rather than just a handful

SAFE DRIVING References

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Beck, K. H., Kasperski, S. J., Caldeira, K. M., Vincent, K. B., OGrady, K. E., & Arria, A. M. (2010). Trends in Alcohol-Related Traffic Risk Behaviors Among College Students. Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, 34(8), 1472-1478. doi:10.1111/j.1530-0277.2010.01232.x

Buggey, T. (2007, Summer). A Picture Is Worth .... Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, 9(3), 151-158. Retrieved December 14, 2007, from Academic Search Premier database. Image: Buggey, T. (2007, Summer). Storyboard for Ivan's morning routine. Diagram. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, 9(3), 151. Retrieved December 14, 2007, from Academic Search Premier database.

Dermody, S. S., Cheong, J., & Walther, C. A. (2012). A Study of Alcohol Use by Designated Drivers Among College Students. Journal Of American College Health, 60(4), 310-315. doi:10.1080/07448481.2011.599351

Foster, S. E., Vaughan, R. D., Foster, W. H., & Califano,Joseph A.,,Jr. (2003). Alcohol consumption and expenditures for underage drinking and adult excessive drinking. JAMA, 289(8), 989-95. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.proxy.consortiumlibrary.org/docview/211388776?acco untid=14473

Hingson RW, Zha W, Weitzman ER. Magnitude of and trends in alcohol-related mortality and morbidity among U.S. college students ages 18-24, 1998-2005. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, July(Suppl 16): 12-20, 2009. Mason, A., & Monk-Turner, E. (2010). Factors shaping the decision of college students to walk or drive under the influence of alcohol: A test of Rational Choice theory. Drugs: Education, Prevention & Policy, 17(5), 560-572. doi:10.3109/09687630802629530

Miller, N. S., M.D., Stout, A. W., B.A., & Sheppard, L. M., M.A. (2000). Underage drinking among college students. Psychiatric Annals, 30(9), 597-601. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.proxy.consortiumlibrary.org/docview/217045030?acco untid=14473

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1. Is it feasible to create a safe driving program for the students attending the University of Alaska Anchorage? a. Yes b. No 2. Have you, as a student of the University of Alaska Anchorage, participated in drinking and driving? a. Yes b. No 3. If you participated in drinking and driving, did you do it because you felt like you had no other option or way of getting home safely? a. Yes b. No 4. Do you feel like the costs of a safe driving program would outweigh the benefits? a. Yes b. No 5. Have you lost loved ones to a drunk driver or a driver who was drinking? a. Yes b. No 6. What is your gender? a. Male b. Female 7. Which age group do you fall into?

SAFE DRIVING a. 16-25 b. 26-35 c. 36-45 d. 46-55 e. 56-65 f. 66-75

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8. Within the past 30 days, how many times have you driven a motor vehicle within two hours of having an alcoholic beverage? a. None b. Few c. Some d. A lot 9. When you did drive within those two hours of having an alcoholic drink, how many drinks did you consume? a. None b. 1-3 drinks c. 4-6 drinks d. 7-10 drinks e. More than 10 10. Were you wearing a seat belt after you decided to drive? a. Yes b. No

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