Assignment 12A – Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 1

I decided to focus solely on college students with my three interviewees to see if the outcome was consistent. The first person I interviewed was very adamant about drinking and driving. She told me a few stories of when she was in high school and she made some stupid decisions that almost cost her own life. Since then she has always used a second method of transportation when going out. We spoke about what needs to be done to prevent further accidents. She has seen that it is not as common here in Gainesville because everything is so close but does still see it happening. She was interested in the idea of the breathalyzer in the car but does agree that it can become an annoyance when just driving doing errands during the day. She has spoken with her friends as to how to avoid this issue, so she always tells her friends to call her when they are out and need to get home so she can pick them up.

The next person was a classmate of mine. He told me that none of his friends drive their cars here at night, but do drive their scooters sometimes while under the influence. They don’t think it’s an issue because where they go is relatively close. He is aware that there is a need to change the way people see this issue, but does not see his wrongdoing as part of the problem. After giving him some examples of past interviews he realized that the issue is much greater. He actually gave an idea of maybe putting the breathalyzer machine on scooters so that college students won’t drink and drive in their scooters. His solution to avoid this issue is to call a ride and have them take him and his friends home.

The last student I interviewed was pre-med. She has studied what alcohol can do to you when drinking and driving. “It is a greater danger to not only your own body but to everyone around you when you’re driving this way,” she said. She thinks the breathalyzer is a great idea but some adjustments can be made so that it’s much easier for people to get in the car and go without having to wait for the machine to accept your tolerance.

I would describe this segment as extremely need-aware, as it is a problem that people face every single day. These accidents can occur at any time of the day and you won’t know when it’s coming. Yes, installing the machine into vehicles will help solve the issue, but there is a much wider spectrum of transportation uses other than cars as the second interviewee recommended it should also be installed in scooters. Anyways, that’s what most students use on campus so it is understandable that students drink and drive in their scooters too. It seems that the first solution to this issue with most students is to call a ride to take them home as it is the easiest thing to do. A few have consulted with their friends and family and have spoken about the different ways to go around not drinking and driving. I was very content after these interviews after realizing that many college students do see the need to stop impaired driving. Although some of them still do it, after speaking with them I think I made them realize that there is a greater need with this and they will be advocates for it with their friends and family.