ABSORPTION, DISTRIBUTION AND ELIMINATION OF ALCOHOL: HIGHWAY SAFETY ASPECTS

Most of the relevant factors and considerations affecting the alcohol contents of various body tissues and fluids and the dose-time-effect relationships fall into the field of pharmacokinetics, which broadly concerns the absorption, distribution, biotransformation and excretion of drugs. Pharmacokinetic parameters affect both the validity and usefulness of alcohol determinations as indicators of driver impairment by alcohol in such respects as choice of sample materials and the probative value and interpretation of results of alcohol analysis. An understanding of alcohol pharmacokinetics is also needed for the proper evaluation and assessment of the validity and significance of studies correlating alcohol concentrations in body fluids with driver performance or impairment, and for proper appreciation of differences between studies. In this paper, several of the more relevant and problematic aspects of alcohol pharmacokinetcs are considered from the aspect of highway safety.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/0096882X
• Corporate Authors:

  Alcohol Research Documentation, Incorporated

  P.O. Box 969
  Piscataway, NJ  United States  08854
• Authors:
  • Dubowski, K M
• Publication Date: 1985-7

Media Info

• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: p. 98-108
• Serial:
  • Journal of Studies on Alcohol
  • Publisher: Rutgers University, New Brunswick
  • ISSN: 0096-882X

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Alcohol breath tests; Blood alcohol levels; Driver performance; Drivers; Drug effects; Drunk driving; Highway safety; Impaired drivers; Personnel performance
• Old TRIS Terms: Driver impairment; Pharmacokinetics; Pharmacologic effect
• Subject Areas: Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00620528
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
• Report/Paper Numbers: Supplement No. 10, HS-041 169, HS-041 170
• Files: HSL, USDOT
• Created Date: Mar 31 1992 12:00AM