Drugs related to motor vehicle crashes in northern European countries: A study of fatally injured drivers |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Division of Forensic Toxicology and Drug Abuse, P.O. Box 4404 Nydalen, NO-0403 Oslo, Norway;2. Department of Forensic Medicine, Section of Forensic Chemistry, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark;3. Hjelt Institute, Department of Forensic Medicine, PO Box 40 (Kytösuontie 11), FI-00014 University of Helsinki, Finland;4. Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Iceland, Iceland;5. Department of Forensic Genetics and Forensic Toxicology, National Board of Forensic Medicine, Artillerigatan 12, 58758 Linköping, Sweden;1. Medical Ethics Unit, Shaare Zedek Medical Center, & Co-Chairman, Israel National Bioethics Council, Jerusalem, Israel;2. Medical Genetics Institute, Shaare Zedek Medical Center, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Faculty of Medicine, & Co-Chairman, Israel National Bioethics Council, Jerusalem, Israel;3. Breast Care Institute, Assaf Harofe Medical Center, the Ethics Bureau of the Israel Medical Association, Zerifin, Israel;4. Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Hadassah Medical Center, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Faculty of Medicin, Jerusalem, Israel;1. Translational Addiction Research Laboratory, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada;2. Department of Psychiatry, Louis Mourier Hospital, AP–HP, Colombes, France;3. INSERM U894, Team 1, Centre for Psychiatry and Neurosciences, 2 Ter Rue d''Alesia, 75014 Paris, France;4. Université Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Faculty of Medicine, France;5. Addiction Program, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Canada;6. Departments of Family and Community Medicine, Psychiatry, Pharmacology and Toxicology, Institutes of Medical Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada;1. Department of Psychology, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran;2. University Professor in Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA;3. Department of Civil Engineering, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran;4. Claremont Graduate University, USA;5. Honorary Research Fellow in Psychology, Bangor University, UK;6. Department of Psychology, Shiraz University, Iran;1. Department of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA;2. Department of Surgery, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA;1. Graduate Institute of Injury Prevention and Control, College of Public Health, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan;2. Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Population Health, Faculty of Medicine, Public Health and Nursing, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta City, Indonesia;3. Department of Emergency Medicine, New Taipei City Hospital, New Taipei City, Taiwan;4. Transport Research Institute, Edinburgh Napier University, Scotland, United Kingdom;5. Department of Engineering, Princess Nora bint Abdul Rahman University Riyadh, Saudi Arabia;6. Department of Emergency Medicine, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei City, Taiwan |
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| Abstract: | The aim of this study was to find which drugs and drug combinations were most common in drivers who died, in particular, in single vehicle crashes where the responsibility for the crash would be referred to the driver killed. The study included all available blood samples from drivers, who died within 24 h of the accident, in the years 2001 and 2002 in the five Nordic countries (total population about 24 million inhabitants). The samples were analysed for more than 200 different drugs in addition to alcohol, using a similar analytical programme and cut-off limits in all countries. In three countries (Finland, Norway and Sweden) blood samples were available for more than 70% of the drivers, allowing representative prevalence data to be collected. 60% of the drivers in single vehicle crashes had alcohol and/or drug in their blood samples, compared with 30% of drivers killed in collisions with other vehicles. In single vehicle accidents, 66% of the drivers under 30 years of age had alcohol and/or drugs in their blood (alcohol only – 40%; drugs only – 12%; alcohol and drugs – 14%). The drugs found were mostly illicit drugs and psychoactive medicinal drugs with warning labels (in 57% and 58% respectively of the drivers under 30 with drugs present). Similar findings were obtained for drivers 30–49 years of age (63% with alcohol and/or drugs). In drivers aged 50 years and above, killed in single vehicle crashes (48% with alcohol and/or drugs) illicit drugs were found in only one case, and psychoactive medicinal drugs were detected less frequently than in younger age groups. In 75% of single vehicle crashes, the driver was under 50 years. Thus, the majority of accidents where the drivers must be considered responsible, occurred with drivers who had recently used alcohol, or drugs, alone or in combination. The drugs involved were often illicit and/or psychoactive drugs with warning labels. Therefore a large proportion of single vehicle accidents appear to be preventable, if more effective measures against driving after intake of alcohol and drugs can be implemented. |
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