We wish to remind everyone that the deadline for submission of abstracts for T'2000 is the 1st of September. We must work on a tight schedule in order to be able to provide the participants with the full proceedings at the conference. You can expect a scientific program, which will give you the latest knowledge in the area of alcohol, drugs and traffic safety and a unique opportunity to meet with the world's leading researchers and practitioners in the field.
We will arrange special sessions such as: Alternative Specimens for the Detection of Drugs; and The Worldwide Decline in Drinking and Driving - Has It Continued? We will also discuss other specific topics but we need your input, because without presenters and discussants you might have too much time to enjoy beautiful Stockholm. Please encourage your colleagues to share their latest research at T'2000.
T'2000 is a Jubilee Conference of ICADTS and therefore we wish to make it special - both in the scientific sessions and with a memorable social program. Everything is already planned but we do not want to give you the particulars about the arrangements now - it is going to be a nice surprise. Incidentally, the cost of the social program is included in the registration fee.
Please visit our website for more information about T'2000! The address is: ICADTS2000.com
Hans Laurell, ICADTS President
In the ICADTS Reporter, Vol. 10, No 1, Winter 1999, there was an announcement of two recent reports prepared by ICADTS member Johan de Gier. One of the reports, Review of Investigations of Prevalence of Illicit Drugs in Road Traffic in Different European Countries, was drafted for the Council of Europe's Pompidou Group, to be used as a base document for a seminar held in Strasbourg from 19-21 April 1999. Paper copies (in English and French) can be ordered free of charge under the following address: Pompidou Group, Council of Europe, F-67075 Strasbourg Cedex, France, Email: pompidou.group@coe.int, Fax: 33-3-88-41 27 85.
The ICADTS Executive Board has acted on a proposal by Dr Herb Moskowitz to establish an award to honour the memory of William Haddon Jr. MD.
William Haddon, Jr., a physician and epidemiologist, was a pioneer in the highway safety field. As a researcher and administrator, he contributed substantially to the development and application of effective methods to reduce motor vehicle injuries by insisting that the field be based on science. Early in his career, Haddon and his colleagues were first to document scientifically the pervasive role of alcohol in fatal highway crashes and collisions involving pedestrians. He was the first researcher to articulate the principle of automatic (or passive) protection for motor vehicle occupants. He developed a conceptual framework for systematically identifying countermeasure options for reducing motor vehicle crash losses. This has become known as the Haddon Matrix.
In 1966 Haddon became the first head of the U.S. National Highway Safety Bureau, now the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). During his tenure, he set standards for laws to combat alcohol-impaired driving. Haddon became president of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) in 1969, building it into a research organization that has been influential in shaping policy. Haddon was IIHS president until his death in 1985, at age 58.
As an administrator, Haddon insisted that public policies be based on scientific evidence indicating what works and what does not work to reduce injuries. He was instrumental in putting into place policies that continue to save thousands of lives each year. As Ralph Nader said of Haddon, "he connected knowledge to action in the great tradition of preventive medicine. His was a rare combination of being a thinker and a doer."
The Haddon Award will recognize those who have advocated scientifically based changes to public policy which have reduced the adverse effects of alcohol or other drugs on traffic safety. The ICADTS Award Committee is pleased to invite nominations for the inaugural award, which will be presented at T'2000, the 15th International Conference on Alcohol, Drugs and Traffic Safety, and the 50th Anniversary of ICADTS, in Stockholm in May 2000.
Nominations for the Haddon Award are to be submitted in writing to: Professor Jack McLean, Chair, ICADTS Award Committee, c/o Road Accident Research Unit, University of Adelaide, Australia 5005. Nominations must be made by a full member of ICADTS in good standing and seconded by a full member in good standing. The letter of nomination must provide a summary of the credentials and achievements that make the candidate a suitable recipient of the Award. The letter must be signed by those making the nomination and must be accompanied by (1) a letter from the candidate certifying their acceptance of the nomination and (2) a complete, detailed curriculum vitae. It should be made clear to all potential nominees that, while nomination is itself an indication of high standing in the field of alcohol, drugs and traffic safety, it does not necessarily imply that an award will be made. All documentation for a nomination must be received by on or before November 30, 1999.
A voluntary testing and counseling procedure for drivers between 18 and 25 years of age has been developed by the Medical-Psychological Institute of TÜV in Germany in conjunction with insurance company German Lloyd. It consists of three parts: (1) assessment of performance variables, (2) diagnostic encounter, and (3) individual counseling based on the assessment. Testing covers perception, reaction behavior and concentration. The diagnostic encounter lasts about 30 minutes and aims at exploring risk potential. The individual counseling serves to inform the driver about the results of the risk and performance assessment and to give him/her advice on possible needs for behavior change.
German Lloyd then receives an assessment report of the driver's risk potential. An elevated risk potential results in a small reduction of the liability premium. An average risk potential results in a larger reduction of the liability premium. A low risk potential results in an attractive reduction of the liability premium. In some cases, depending on the primary insurance fee, the reduction could amount to 50%. (Contributed by ICADTS Treasurer Wolf-Rüdiger Nickel.)
ICADTS member Marie-Berthe Biecheler, along with co-author Jean-Pierre Cauzard, has recently authored a report entitled Drivers and Regulations: The Case of Drink-Driving in Europe. This report draws from a variety of research sources to examine the relationship between alcohol consumption levels and road behaviors. The intent of this research synthesis is to appraise the harmonization policy imposed by the European Union to standardize the illegal blood alcohol content of .05 percent. The report discusses the similarities and differences in the characteristics of the driving and drinking population in various European countries. Copies of the report can be obtained from INRETS at a cost of 75 Francs or 11.43 Euros. Write to INRETS Publications, 2, Avenue du General Malleret-Joinville, BF-94114 ARCUEIL Cedex, France. Tel: 33 01 47 40 70 00.
The recent move in the United States to lower the illegal blood alcohol content for driving to .08 as well as the establishment of .04 as the maximum level for commercial drivers has led to the need to study the validity of the standard field sobriety test battery to discriminate at lower alcohol levels. The field sobriety test battery consists of three tests administered by law enforcement officers at the roadside to assist them in making an arrest decision. These include the horizontal gaze nystagmus test and the walk and turn and one-leg stand tests.
In order to validate these tests at lower BACs, officers of the San Diego (California) Police Department administered a total of 298 field sobriety tests. Using the tests, it was found that the officers were extremely accurate in discriminating between BACs above and below .08 percent, with 91-94 percent of cases accurately categorized. Officers were accurate 80 percent of the time in estimating whether a motorist's BAC was above .04 but below .08.
For a copy of the report, Validation of the Standardized Field Sobriety Test Battery at BACs Below 0.10 Percent, write to Media and Marketing Division, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, NTS-21, 400 Seventh Street, S.W., Washington, DC 20590 or fax 202-493-2062.
Road traffic accidents in the Czech Republic continued to climb in 1998 to an all time high of 210,138, although the number of people killed dropped by 14.7%. In 1998, 1,204 people died in traffic accidents. This represents the first major reduction in road accident deaths since 1984. The number of deaths had increased almost steadily from 928 in 1984 to 1,597 in 1997. While the number of accidents increased in 1998 by 5.9% in 1998, serious injuries dropped by 7.2% and minor injuries by 3.1%.
There were 9,322 road accidents in 1998 in which the driver was under the influence of alcohol. In these accidents, 167 people were killed and 5,275 were injured. Comparing 1998 to 1997, there was a reduction of 4.6% in the number of alcohol-involved accidents, a 1.7% reduction in deaths and an 8.2% reduction in injuries. For more information, contact the Road Traffic Department, Ministry of the Interior, Nad Stolou 3, 170 34 Praha 7, The Czech Republic. Email: ssc@mvcr.cz.
Starting midnight Monday, February 22, 1999, New York City (NYC) began enforcing a tough municipal policy that allows police to impound the vehicles driven by those arrested for DWI with a BAC of .10 or higher. This new policy simply expands enforcement programs under the existing NYC forfeiture law, The law is now being enforced against anyone arrested for drunk driving, including first time offenders, as well as those refusing the breath test.
New York State law allowed the impoundment of vehicles owned by repeat offenders, but the state law was infrequently enforced. This new program could be the toughest, forfeiture program for DWI in the nation. It is based on federal law that permits the government to seize any "instrument" used in the commission of a crime. Typically, it has been used in many states for drug crimes. This initiative is part of the City's expanded quality of life enforcement campaign, which includes a renewed emphasis on traffic violations.
Since New York City initiated the impoundment, Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island began seizing cars as well. Together these two counties have a population of nearly 4 million. Jersey City, NJ, and Westchester County, NY, have contacted NYPD for information to help implement a similar program. Not since 1984 has media interest in the DWI program been so high. (Source: Stop Signs, Vol. , No. 1, June, 1999)
An article in the American Journal of Public Health Vol. 89, No. 5, May, 1999, reports the prevalence of, and trends in, driving after drinking and riding in a car with a driver who has been drinking among American high school seniors. The report is based on data from more than a decade (1984-1997) of annual national surveys. Logistic regressions were used to assess the effects of demographic factors (gender, region of country, population density, parental education, and race/ethnicity) and selected "lifestyle" factors (religious commitment, high school grades, truancy, illicit drug use, evenings out per week, and miles driven per week).
Rates of adolescent driving after drinking and riding with a driver who had been drinking declined significantly from the mid-1980s to the early or mid- 1990s, but the declines have not continued in recent years. Rates of driving or riding after drinking were higher among high school seniors who are male, white, living in the western and northeastern regions of the United States, and living in rural areas. Truancy, number of evenings out, and drug use all related significantly positively to the dependent variables, whereas grade point average and religious commitment had a negative relationship. Miles driven per week related positively to driving after drinking. The article, Drinking and Driving among US High School Seniors, 1984-1997, was prepared by Patrick M. O'Malley, PhD, and Lloyd D. Johnston, PhD.
The New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services recently published a survey report entitled "Alcohol Use and Safety Risks among College Students in New York State." The report summarizes the findings of a 1998 survey of 813 students randomly selected from colleges throughout the state. Key findings of the survey included:
(Source: Stop Signs, Vol. 9, Number 4, March 1999)
The ICADTS Executive Board recently elected new members to ICADTS. They include: Dr. Alexander Weiss, Dr. Richard Compton and Dr. Kimball Maull of the United States, and Dr. Margaret Peden and Dr. J. W. van der Spuy of South Africa. Each new member was nominated by two active ICADTS members and approved by the Membership Committee and the Executive Board. In addition, Mr. Mark Vahlkamp of the United States was approved as an Affiliate Member. Colleagues working in the field of alcohol, drugs and traffic safety who are interested in becoming members of ICADTS, can obtain information on ICADTS membership and an application, by checking the ICADTS Web Site or by contacting the ICADTS, Secretary, Carol Popkin Council, Department of Health and Human Resources, 325 N. Salisbury Street, Suite 1168, Raleigh, NC 27603-5906, U.S.A. Phone: 919-733-4671, Fax: 919-733-9455, Email: carol.council@ncmail.net. Current dues for ICADTS are $60 per year.
September 20-21, 1999
43rd Annual Conference of the Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine-Barcelona, Spain
Joint session with IRCOBI follows on September 22.
Contact Irene Herzau at AAAM in Chicago for information, Tel: 847-390-8927, ext.11; Email: AAAM@aol.com.
September 20-22, 1999
10th International Conference on Traffic Safety on Two Continents-Malmö, Sweden
Sponsored by VTI, TRB and BASt.
For information contact VTI, Tel: 46-13-20-4000, Fax: 46-13-12-6162, Email: info@vutv.vti.se.
October 13-15, 1999
1999 ABA Traffic Court Seminar-New Orleans, LA, USA
New Technologies in breath testing and dealing with alcohol and Other drugs impaired drivers will be featured.
Contact Committee On Traffic Court Program, ABA Judicial Division, 541 N. Fairbanks Court, Chicago, IL 60611, Tel: 312-988-5742, Fax: 312-988-5709.
January 8-13, 2000
79th Annual Meeting of the U.S. Transportation Research Board-Washington, DC, USA
Contact Dr. Richard Pain, Tel: 202-334-2960, Fax: 202-334-2003, Email: rpain@nas.edu.
May 21-26, 2000
15th International Conference on Alcohol, Drugs and Traffic Safety, ICADTS Jubilee Conference-Stockholm, Sweden
Contact the Conference Secretariat, c/o The Swedish National Road Administration, SE-781 87 Borlänge, Sweden, Tel: 46 243 75000, Fax: 46 243 75825, Email: t2000@vv.se. Also visit the new T'2000 web site: http://www.ICADTS2000.com. (See related article)
May 28-31, 2000
17th World Congress of the International Association for Accident and Traffic Medicine-Stockholm, Sweden
Contact the Conference Secretariat, Box 23201, SE-104 35 Stockholm, Sweden, Tel/Fax: 46 8 30 25 07, Email: Secretary@iaatm2000.com.