Abstract Manager

Over the past three decades, the proportion of drivers charged with impaired driving who are women has nearly tripled, increasing from 8% in 1986 to 23% in 2019. As of 2021, the number of men facing impaired driving charges had dropped by approximately 70% since 1986, but the number of women charged with impaired driving had declined only slightly (Statistics Canada, 2021). Despite these shifts, sex and gender differences have seldom been considered when road safety initiatives are developed.

Back on Track (BOT) is Ontario’s provincially mandated remedial education program for individuals who have committed an impaired driving offence. BOT was created and has been managed by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) since 1998. The program consists of an Assessment, an 8- or 16-hour Workshop, and a Follow-up Interview six months after workshop attendance. Drivers presenting with more severe alcohol and drug problems, as determined by the Assessment, are assigned to the 16-hour workshop.

Funded through Transport Canada, and leveraging its role as manager of BOT, researchers at CAMH have developed a multi-study research program to expand our understanding of how sex and gender may relate to risk factors for impaired driving and inform the effectiveness of existing interventions.

This presentation will summarize findings from three complementary studies:

1. A systematic review of the effectiveness of remedial programming for drivers who have committed an impaired driving offence, with a focus on sex and gender considerations;
2. A one-on-one interview study with BOT participants concerning how gender may influence their experience of the program, including curriculum, videos, and interactions with facilitators;
3. A secondary analysis of BOT program data starting in 1999 (e.g., substance use, related harms) linked to Ministry of Transportation Ontario driver record data (e.g., collisions, charges) assessing potential sex differences in risk factors for impaired driving and BOT program outcomes.

Findings will inform practical recommendations for improving impaired driving remedial interventions, including potential consideration of single-sex program delivery, revisions to program curriculum and learning materials, and the development of targeted prevention strategies for female- and women-identifying drivers.