A pattern of arrests for drink driving in Hobart,Tasmania

The locations of arrests for drink driving in Hobart show a distinct concentration in the city centre. It is suggested that the distribution and characteristics of alcohol outlets and the related behaviour of certain groups led to a spatial and temporal clustering of impaired drivers. Disposition of breath testing units probably gives a simultaneous concentration of police activity in the city centre. Examination of home/arrest distances hints at the presence of parochial drinkers and drinkers using relatively distant venues which has some implications for intervention strategies. Long‐distance drivers are mainly young and attending hotels in the city centre whilst local drinkers are older.