DRUGS AND HIGHWAY CRASHES - CAN WE SEPARATE FACT FROM FANCY?

THE EXTENT TO WHICH IMPAIRMENT BY MIND-ALTERING DRUGS OTHER THAN ALCOHOL IS A FACTOR IN HIGHWAY CRASHES IS EXAMINED AND THE IDENTITY OF TYPES OF PERSONS LIKELY TO GET INTO TROUBLE ON THE HIGHWAY AS A RESULT IS SOUGHT. THE EXTENT TO WHICH THE DRUG AND ALCOHOL PROBLEMS OVERLAP IS ALSO INVESTIGATED. DATA AVAILABLE INDICATE SOME CRASHES ARE ATTRIBUTABLE TO IMPAIRMENT FROM DRUG EFFECTS. EXCEPT FOR AMPHETAMINE ABUSE, DRUG EFFECTS ARE NOT VERY MARKED, AND USUALLY OCCUR WHEN USERS ARE NOT EXPOSED TO THE HAZARDS OF WALKING OR DRIVING. TWO CATEGORIES OF USERS WHO REPRESENT A PROBLEM, BUT NOT BECAUSE OF DRUGS, ARE SOCIOPATHS WHO REPEATEDLY FLAUNT AUTHORITY IN A VARIETY OF WAYS, AND PROBLEM DRINKERS. A THIRD GROUP WHO USE PRESCRIPTION OR NON-PRESCRIPTION DRUGS TO COPE WITH EVERY DAY STRESSES AND YOUNG ADULTS WHO USE ONLY MARIJUANA PROBABLY DO NOT HAVE AN INCREASED RISK OF CRASHES OR CITATIONS. /HSL/

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/00987484
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Vol 215, No 9, PP 1477-1482, 24 REF
• Corporate Authors:

  American Medical Association

  535 North Dearborn Street
  Chicago, IL  United States  60610
• Authors:
  • Waller, J A
• Publication Date: 1971-3-1

Media Info

• Serial:
  • JAMA: Journal of the American Medical Association
  • Publisher: American Medical Association
  • ISSN: 0098-7484
  • Serial URL: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Alcoholism; Amphetamines; Crash causes; Drugs; Marijuana; Traffic crashes
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00223672
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Highway Safety Literature
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Mar 7 1972 12:00AM