THE PREVALENCE AND ROLE OF ALCOHOL, CANNABINOIDS, BENZODIAZEPINES AND STIMULANTS IN NON-FATAL CRASHES

Drug levels were determined for alcohol, cannabinoids, benzodiazepines and amphetamines from consecutive blood samples from 2,500 non-fatally injured drivers. Level of culpability for the crash was determined using the method developed by Drummer (1994). As demonstrated in previous research, the effect of alcohol was concentration dependent, and an extremely steep alcohol concentration versus culpability was noted. Overall, there was no significant increase in culpability for cannabinoids alone (at the relatively low levels encountered in this study). There was some suggestion of a biphasic effect for cannabinoids, with a slight protective effect at lower concentrations, accompanied by an increase in the proportion culpable at higher concentrations. Benzodiazepines at therapeutic levels were associated with significantly higher levels of culpability, representing the first clear evidence of that relationship. Conversely, there was no significant relationship between stimulants and culpability, and the numbers testing positive for this drug class were low.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/0730861015
• Supplemental Notes:
  • This report is separated into two documents. The first document contains the body of the report and Appendix C. The second document contains Appendices A and B. NHTSA has assigned separate document numbers for each (first is HS-042 862; second is HS-042 863).
• Corporate Authors:

  University of Adelaide

  North Terrace
  Adelaide, South Australia  Australia  5005
• Authors:
  • HUNTER, C E
  • LOKAN, R J
  • LONGO, M C
  • WHITE, J M
  • WHITE, M A
• Publication Date: 1998-5

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: Appendices; Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 178 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Alcohols; Amphetamines; Blood alcohol levels; Crash causes; Crashes; Drugged drivers; Drunk drivers; Drunk driving; Marijuana; Personality; Stimulants; Traffic crashes
• Uncontrolled Terms: Benzodiazepines; Responsibility
• Geographic Terms: South Australia
• Old TRIS Terms: Cannabinoids; Drug caused accidents
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors; I83: Accidents and the Human Factor;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00758922
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 0730861015
• Report/Paper Numbers: HS-042 862,, HS-042 863
• Files: HSL, TRIS, ATRI
• Created Date: Jan 8 2000 12:00AM