CLINICAL EXAMINATION FOR INTOXICATION IN CASES OF SUSPECTED DRUNKEN DRIVING

FINLAND IS ONE OF THE FEW COUNTRIES IN WHICH, DUE TO THE LACK OF A STATUTORY BLOOD ALCOHOL LIMIT, THE CLINICAL EXAMINATION FOR INTOXICATION HAS RETAINED A DECISIVE IMPORTANCE IN COURT. TO CLARIFY THE VALUE OF THE CLINICAL EXAMINATION FOR INTOXICATION, INFORMATION WAS GATHERED FROM THE LARGEST INSTITUTE IN FINLAND CONTINUOUSLY PERFORMING THESE EXAMINATIONS AND ANALYZED BY COMPUTER. FORTY-EIGHT VARIABLES WERE USED, INCLUDING PERFORMANCE ON 13 CLINICAL TESTS, DEGREE OF INTOXICATION, BLOOD ALCOHOL VOLUME, AGE, SEX, SOCIAL STATUS, DELAY TIME OF TEST, DISEASE AND PREVIOUS MEDICATION, ALCOHOL INGESTED, DELAY TIME OF TEST, AND PHYSICIAN'S EXPERIENCE. MANY SERIOUS SOURCES OF ERROR WERE LOCATED. AT LOW BLOOD ALCOHOLS THERE WAS FOUND SIGNIFICANT OVERDIAGNOSIS OF THE DEGREE OF INTOXICATION.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • No 11, 43 PP, 8 FIG, 11 TAB, 22 REF
• Corporate Authors:

  Cen Org for Traffic Safety /Finland

  ,    
• Authors:
  • PENTTILA, A
  • Tenhu, M
  • Kataja, M
• Publication Date: 1971

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Alcohol tests; Blood alcohol levels; Diagnosis; Diagnostic tests; Drivers; Drunk drivers; Drunk driving; Human characteristics; Information processing; Physicians
• Uncontrolled Terms: Driver characteristics
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors; Society;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00223666
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Mar 27 1972 12:00AM