Drug and Alcohol Crash Risk

The case control crash risk study reported here is the first large-scale study in the United States to include drugs other than alcohol. It was designed to estimate the risk associated with alcohol- and drug-positive driving. Virginia Beach, Virginia, was selected for this study. Data were collected from more than 3,000 crash-involved drivers and 6,000 control drivers (not involved in crashes). Breath alcohol measurements were obtained from a total of 10,221 drivers, oral fluid samples from 9,285 drivers, and blood samples from 1,764 drivers. Research teams responded to crashes 24 hours a day, 7 days a week over a 20-month period. In order to maximize comparability, efforts were made to match control drivers to each crash-involved driver. One week after a driver involved in a crash provided data for the study, control drivers were selected at the same location, day of week, time of day, and direction of travel as the original crash. This allowed a comparison to be made between use of alcohol and other drugs by drivers involved in a crash with drivers not in a crash, resulting in an estimation of the relative risk of crash involvement associated with alcohol or drug use. In this study, the term marijuana is used to refer to drivers who tested positive for delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinal (THC). THC is associated with the psychoactive effects of ingesting marijuana. Drivers who tested positive for inactive cannabinoids were not considered positive for marijuana. This study of crash risk found a statistically significant increase in unadjusted crash risk for drivers who tested positive for use of illegal drugs (1.21 times), and THC specifically (1.25 times). However, analyses incorporating adjustments for age, gender, ethnicity, and alcohol concentration level did not show a significant increase in levels of crash risk associated with the presence of drugs. This finding indicates that these other variables (age, gender ethnicity and alcohol use) were highly correlated with drug use and account for much of the increased risk associated with the use of illegal drugs and with THC. This study found a statistically significant association between driver alcohol level and crash risk both before and after adjustment for demographic factors.

• Record URL:
  http://www.nhtsa.gov/staticfiles/nti/pdf/812117-Drug_and_Alcohol_Crash_Risk.pdf
• 
• Authors:
  • Compton, Richard P
  • Berning, Amy
• Publication Date: 2015-2

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: References; Tables;
• Pagination: 11p
• Serial:
  • Traffic Safety Facts - Research Note
  • Publisher: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
• Publication flags:

  Open Access (libre)

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Crash risk forecasting; Drugged drivers; Drunk driving; Marijuana
• Geographic Terms: United States; Virginia Beach (Virginia)
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors; I83: Accidents and the Human Factor;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01555799
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: DOT HS 812 117
• Files: HSL, TRIS, ATRI, USDOT
• Created Date: Mar 2 2015 10:37AM