THE EXAMINATION OF DRINKING DRIVERS
THESE RESULTS SHOW NO CORRELATION BETWEEN THE RESULTS OF THE TESTS PERFORMED AND THE BLOOD ALCOHOL LEVEL. THEY CONFIRM THAT THE STANDARD TESTS FOR DRUNKENNESS ARE NOT NEARLY SENSITIVE OR RELIABLE ENOUGH TO DETECT OTHER THAN GROSS IMPAIRMENT OF DRIVING ABILITY. IN THIS SURVEY SUBJECTS 'C' AND 'J' HAD THE LOWEST AHD HIGHEST BLOOD ALCOHOL LEVELS AND YET THEIR TEST RESULT ARE SIMULAR AND ON THE BASIS OF THESE ANOTHER EXAMINER MIGHT EASILY HAVE CERTIFIED THEM AS FIT TO DRIVE. ALTHOUGH NYSTAGMUS IS USUALLY SEEN IN PEOPLE WITH A BLOOD ALCOHOL LEVEL OVER 80MG% IN THIS SMALL SERIES SUBJECT 'C' DID NOT HAVE NYSTAGUMS ALTHOUGH HIS BLOOD ALCOHOL LEVEL WAS 170MG. PUTTING A KEY IN A YALE LOCK AND PICKING UP A COIN SHOW THEMSELVES AS TESTS HARDLY WORTH PERFORMING. THEY MAY BE USEFUL IN DEMONSTRATING OVERT DRUNKENNESS BUT FOR JUDGING THE DEGREE OF INTOXICATION THAT RENDERS A PERSON UNFIT TO CONTROL A CAR THEY HAVE NO VALUE. THE MOST EFFECTIVE TESTS WERE THOSE OF WRITING, LOOKING UP A TELEPHONE NUMBER AND SIMPLE ADDITION AND BECAUSE OF THIS IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE THE SUBJECT'S LEVEL OF EDUCATION AND WHETHER HE NORMALLY WEARS GLASSES FOR READING. THE MOST CONSISTENT RESULTS IN CLINICAL EXAMINATION OF A SUBJECT WITH A BLOOD ALCOHOL LEVEL OF OVER 150 MG% ARE THE SMELL OF THE BREATH AND NYSTAGMUS, ALL THE OTHER RESULTS ARE VARIABLE. WITHOUT A BLOOD ALCOHOL ESTIMATION, THE RESULTS OF CLINICAL EXAMINATION WILL UNDERESTIMATE THE DEGREE OF INTOXICATION PRESENT. THE DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS OF CARBON MONOXIDE POISONING, INJURY, FATIGUE, AND DRUGS, CAN BEST BE RESOLVED BY A BLOOD ALCOHOL ESTIMATION. PEOPLE WHO REFUSE THIS CAN STILL USE THE ABOVE CAUSES TO GOOD EFFECT WHEN DEFENDING THEIR CASE. /SRIS/
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Availability:
- Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/00288446
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Supplemental Notes:
- Vol 66, No 416, PP 235-237
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Corporate Authors:
N/A
, United States -
Authors:
- Macculloch, D
- Publication Date: 1967
Media Info
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Serial:
- New Zealand Medical Journal
- Publisher: New Zealand Medical Association
- ISSN: 0028-8446
- EISSN: 1175-8716
- Serial URL: http://journal.nzma.org.nz/journal/
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Alcohol tests; Blood alcohol levels; Blood analysis; Carbon monoxide; Drivers; Drugs; Drunk drivers; Drunk driving; Fatigue (Physiological condition)
- Old TRIS Terms: Blood tests
- Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 00222931
- Record Type: Publication
- Source Agency: Nat Safety Council Safety Res Info Serv
- Files: TRIS
- Created Date: Aug 17 2003 12:00AM