Vanakoski J, Mattila M J, Seppälä T
Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Helsinki, Finland.
Eur J Clin Pharmacol. 2000 Sep;56(6-7):453-8. doi: 10.1007/s002280000167.
Driving at night time increases accident risk due to visual conditions, fatigue and impaired performance. In addition, the use of alcohol and benzodiazepines may enhance the risks related to night-time driving. We studied these aspects of traffic safety in a simulated driving test with young and older drivers.
In a double-blind, crossover, placebo-controlled study, nine young subjects, aged 22-24 years, performed simulated driving in both 'light' and 'dark' conditions, before and 1.5 h and 4 h after 0.8 g x kg(-1) ethanol (EOH) or 15 mg diazepam (DZ). Further, nine older subjects, aged 55-77 years, were similarly tested, but their EOH dose was 0.7 g x kg(-1) and the DZ dose was 10 mg. The tests were vigilance assessment on visual analogue scales (VAS), simulated driving under light and dark conditions for 6 min each and digit symbol substitution (DSS).
In the young subjects, both EOH and DZ similarly impaired DSS, with DZ causing more subjective drowsiness, clumsiness, mental slowness and poor overall performance than EOH. During simulated driving, both EOH and DZ impaired simple and complex tracking (EOH > DZ) and prolonged reaction times (EOH = DZ). Impairment of performance was practically identical under light and dark conditions. In the older subjects, objective performance on DSS was poorer (-30%) than that of the young ones, and subjective impairment was marginal. During simulated driving, the baseline levels of variables in older subjects showed definite impairment (errors +100% to +500%) when compared with young subjects. Active drugs impaired several variables (EOH > DZ), but the statistical significances were fewer than in young subjects. Increase in reaction errors reached statistical significance, especially while driving in the dark. Otherwise the driving results in light and dark were not notably different.
Young subjects drew good baselines but were sensitive to EOH and DZ, whilst the older subjects showed poor baselines but were less sensitive to EOH and DZ. Although the baseline driving and responses to treatments were different in young and older subjects, their driving and psychomotor impairment were unaffected by light conditions.
夜间驾驶会因视觉条件、疲劳和性能受损而增加事故风险。此外，饮酒和使用苯二氮䓬类药物可能会增加与夜间驾驶相关的风险。我们在一项针对年轻和年长驾驶员的模拟驾驶测试中研究了交通安全的这些方面。
在一项双盲、交叉、安慰剂对照研究中，9名年龄在22 - 24岁的年轻受试者在0.8 g·kg⁻¹乙醇（EOH）或15 mg地西泮（DZ）给药前、给药后1.5小时和4小时，在“亮”和“暗”两种条件下进行模拟驾驶。此外，9名年龄在55 - 77岁的年长受试者也进行了类似测试，但他们的EOH剂量为0.7 g·kg⁻¹，DZ剂量为10 mg。测试包括视觉模拟量表（VAS）上的警觉性评估、在亮和暗条件下各进行6分钟的模拟驾驶以及数字符号替换（DSS）。
在年轻受试者中，EOH和DZ同样损害DSS，与EOH相比，DZ导致更多主观嗜睡、笨拙、思维迟缓及整体表现不佳。在模拟驾驶期间，EOH和DZ均损害简单和复杂追踪（EOH > DZ）并延长反应时间（EOH = DZ）。在亮和暗条件下，性能损害几乎相同。在年长受试者中，DSS的客观表现比年轻受试者差（-30%），主观损害较小。在模拟驾驶期间，与年轻受试者相比，年长受试者变量的基线水平显示出明显损害（错误增加100%至500%）。活性药物损害了几个变量（EOH > DZ），但统计学意义比年轻受试者少。反应错误的增加达到统计学意义，尤其是在黑暗中驾驶时。否则，亮和暗条件下的驾驶结果没有明显差异。
年轻受试者基线良好，但对EOH和DZ敏感，而年长受试者基线较差，但对EOH和DZ不太敏感。尽管年轻和年长受试者的基线驾驶及对治疗的反应不同，但他们的驾驶和精神运动损害不受光照条件影响。
