Impaired-Driving Center, Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, Calverton, Maryland, 20705, USA.
J Stud Alcohol Drugs. 2011 Jul;72(4):567-76. doi: 10.15288/jsad.2011.72.567.
The aim of this study was to explore the relationship of drunk and drugged driving to the occurrence of fatal crashes associated with speeding, failure to obey/yield, inattention, and seat belt nonuse.
We examined data for fatally injured drivers involved in single-vehicle crashes killed in states in which more than 79% of the drivers were tested for drugs other than alcohol and had a known result.
About 25% of the drivers tested positive for drugs, a figure almost double that estimated by the 2007 National Roadside Survey. Cannabinoids and stimulants each contributed to about 23% of the drugpositive results (6% among all fatally injured single-vehicle drivers). Stimulants more than cannabinoids were found to be associated with the four types of crashes under study. Some drugs showed a protective effect over the four crash types under study. Significant interactions between drugs and alcohol were observed. Stimulants contributed to the different types of fatal crashes irrespective of the levels of alcohol consumed by the drivers.
This study provides further evidence of a link between drug consumption and fatal crashes. It also opens the door to some interesting and sometimes unexpected questions regarding the way drugs contribute to crashes, which we found varies depending on the type of crash considered, the class of drug, and the presence of alcohol. Research is also needed on drugs that could have a protective effect on the occurrence of fatal crashes. These findings could be highly relevant to the design of drug-related traffic laws and programs targeted at curbing drugged driving.
本研究旨在探讨醉酒和毒驾与超速、不遵守/避让、注意力不集中和不系安全带导致的致命撞车事故之间的关系。
我们研究了在各州进行的针对单一车辆碰撞事故中死亡的驾驶员数据，这些州对除酒精以外的药物的检测率超过 79%，且药物检测结果已知。
约 25%的驾驶员药物检测呈阳性，这一数字几乎是 2007 年国家路边调查估计数字的两倍。大麻素和兴奋剂各占药物阳性结果的约 23%（所有单一车辆事故死亡驾驶员的 6%）。研究发现，兴奋剂与所研究的四种撞车类型的关系更为密切。某些药物对所研究的四种撞车类型表现出保护作用。在观察到药物和酒精之间存在显著的相互作用。无论驾驶员摄入的酒精水平如何，兴奋剂都与不同类型的致命撞车事故有关。
本研究进一步证明了药物使用与致命撞车事故之间存在关联。它还提出了一些有趣的、有时是意想不到的问题，涉及药物如何导致撞车事故，我们发现这些问题因所考虑的撞车类型、药物类别以及酒精的存在而有所不同。还需要对可能对致命撞车事故发生有保护作用的药物进行研究。这些发现可能与制定针对遏制毒驾的与药物相关的交通法规和项目高度相关。
