Journal article
Facebook and drug driving: Does online sharing work against road safety countermeasures?
Journal of Safety Research, Vol.86, pp.86-94
2023
Abstract
Introduction: Enhancements to technology have transformed several aspects of road safety, communication, and connectivity. At the intersection of these, scholars have begun to speculate whether certain aspects of technology may provide motorists ways to engage in illegal and dangerous driving behaviors without consequences. Police traffic operations such as Roadside Drug Testing are intended to occur “anywhere, anytime” to communicate to motorists that they should not risk offending. A potential challenge for road safety is the emergence of Facebook police location pages and groups, where users can share the locations of police operations. Method: In this study, the authors examined two Facebook police location groups and three pages from Queensland (Australia) and conducted a content analysis of posts related to Roadside Drug Testing operations and a thematic analysis of comments on these posts. A total of 282 posts related to Roadside Drug Testing were identified between February and April 2021, with 1,823 comments made. Results: The findings suggest that some users: (a) had lived experiences of avoiding punishment for drug driving; (b) remain unaware of how long to wait between drug consumption and driving; (c) perceived Roadside Drug Testing operations to be for the purpose of revenue raising; and (d) changed their driving behavior upon seeing an operation. Conclusions: These findings suggest consideration is needed regarding the responsibility of both Facebook, and the government, in allowing groups and pages to exist that undermine law enforcement. Practical Applications: Regarding practice, the comments suggest that greater education is needed regarding “safe” times to drive after drug taking.
Details
- Title
- Facebook and drug driving: Does online sharing work against road safety countermeasures?
- Authors
- Laura Mills (Corresponding Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Road Safety Research CollaborationVerity Truelove (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Road Safety Research CollaborationJames Freeman (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Road Safety Research Collaboration
- Publication details
- Journal of Safety Research, Vol.86, pp.86-94
- Publisher
- Elsevier Ltd
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.jsr.2023.01.008
- ISSN
- 1879-1247
- Organisation Unit
- School of Social Sciences - Legacy; School of Law and Society; Road Safety Research Collaboration; Sexual Violence Research and Prevention Unit
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 99715198902621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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- Web Of Science research areas
- Ergonomics
- Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
- Social Sciences, Interdisciplinary
- Transportation
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