A qualitative study of the first COVID-19 pandemic lockdown: The impact on alcohol consumption and driving behaviours.

• Many individuals did not change their drinking and driving behaviours during the pandemic. • Individuals reacted differently to COVID and the restrictions put in place early in the pandemic. • Individual factors such as stress influenced drinking and driving behaviours during COVID. • Work, family, and government decisions were reported to influence behaviours during the pandemic. • Factors beyond COVID health concerns influenced individuals' drinking and driving behaviours. COVID-19 influenced life in a multitude of ways beyond immediate health impacts. This included driving behaviours. People drove less often during the early months of the pandemic, yet crash rates increased. There were reports of increased alcohol consumption during this same time which was considered to impact on driving behaviours such as drink driving. This study explores the thoughts and opinions of Queensland, Australian drivers (n = 798) concerning driving behaviours, alcohol consumption, and drink driving behaviours during the early phases of the pandemic (April – August 2020). Participants responded to qualitative questions in online questionnaires over three phases that prompted thoughts in these domains. Bronfenbrenner's bioecological model was found to explain participants' comments with the six layers seeming to impact driving, alcohol consumption, and drink driving behaviours. That is, these behaviours were influenced at an individual level (e.g., coping mechanisms), the microsystem level (e.g., reduced opportunities for socialisation), the mesosystem (e.g., work demands impacting family), the exosystem (e.g., large scale random breath testing was suspended and road police deployed to border control), the macrosystem (e.g., Australian drinking culture), and the chronosystem (the pandemic). Understanding the perspectives of individuals during a sudden shift in life caused by COVID-19 highlights the broader impact of the pandemic on people's behaviours. In addition, this study also provides important insights into the intricacies of driving, drinking and drink driving behaviours. These understandings can inform future research and countermeasures to prevent these risky behaviours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]