The call for conference papers has been issued for the 16th ICADTS International Conference on Alcohol, Drugs and Traffic Safety. The conference is scheduled to take place in Montréal, Québec, Canada from August 4-9, 2002. The venue will be the Palais des Congrès, Montréal's convention centre in the heart of the city. Abstracts for both oral and poster presentations are due by October 15, 2001, and can be in the following areas: driver characteristics, pharmacology and toxicology, epidemiology, rehabilitation, prevention driving performance, and emerging and cross-cutting issues. A cash prize will be awarded to the best poster. Notice of acceptance of abstracts will be made by January 15, 2002 and full papers are due by March 15, 2002 to allow for the published proceedings to be available at the conference. A reduced registration fee of $400 US for ICADTS members and $450 US for non-members is available until May 30th 2002. The registration fee includes the welcoming reception, lunches, the conference dinner and a copy of the conference proceedings.
The forms for submitting abstracts or additional information concerning the conference can be obtained from the conference web site at: www.saaq.gouv.qc.ca/t2002, by tel: 514-395-1808, fax: 514-395-1801, or email: info@opus3.com. Future editions of The Reporter will provide information on the social programs and conference and hotel registration.
ICADTS has recently published a report on Illegal Drugs and Driving. The report was completed by the working group on Illegal Drugs and Driving, chaired by Dr. J. Michael Walsh of the United States. The working group included experts from around the world, many from EU countries. The report summarizes global activities on the subject; identifies what is known about the scope of the problem; provides a discussion of the current status of political, legislative, and law enforcement efforts; and makes recommendations for new strategic initiatives and future research. Among the key legislative recommendation was that consideration be given to the passage of per se laws, increased penalties for driving under the influence of both alcohol and drugs, and a lower BAC for for DUI in the presence of drugs. The report also contains the results of a worldwide survey and papers presented at a special working group meeting.
A copy of the 88 page report is available free to all current ICADTS members. Email your name and address to: jmwalsh@walshgroup.org or fax your request to 301-571-2417. For all others the cost is $25. Send a check payable to: The Walsh Group, ICADTS Report Order, 6701 Democracy Blvd., Suite 300, Bethesda, MD 20817, USA.
In a report released in January, the European Commission said that member governments must set tougher drink-drive rules to slash the number of crashes, many of them fatal, on European Union Roads. Evidence suggests that about 6,500 drivers of motorised vehicles are killed in drink-drive crashes every year in the EU in which at least one driver exceeded a BAC limit. At least an additional 3,500 sober drivers, vehicle passengers, pedestrians and cyclists are also killed in drink-drive crashes. These 10,000 fatalities account for nearly a quarter of all road fatalities in the EU. The Commission recommended that all 15 EU states should adopt a legal maximum BAC limit of 0.5mg/ml, or lower for drivers and riders of all motorised vehicles. A lower BAC limit of 0.2 mg/ml was also recommended for inexperienced drivers, riders of 2 wheeled motor vehicles, drivers of large lorries and buses, and drivers of vehicles carrying dangerous goods. Also recommended was the adoption by all states of random breath testing. In addition, all member states should work closely with the Commission to exchange information on best practices, support European wide publicity campaigns which encourage drivers not to drink and drive, and to co-ordinate the use of accident data and monitor the effectiveness of polices. The report stated that the available evidence suggests that, at a minimum, at least 1,000 lives could be saved by a more uniform legal BAC limit of 0.5 mg/ml together with a lower limit of 0.2 mg/ml for special categories of drivers and increases in enforcement by member states - especially those where current levels of enforcement are relatively low. For additional information about the report, contact Peter Wilding a the European Commission at peter.wilding@cec.eu.int.
Clinical Signs of Drugs
The Working Group, Clinical Signs of Drugs, co-chaired by Marcelline Burns and Charles Mercier-Guyon, invites participation in this new group. Those individuals who have expressed interest will be contacted shortly, and additional members are actively solicited as we undertake what will be challenging tasks. We expect the group's work to be difficult and its product to be important. During the recent TRB meeting, the co-chairs met and defined initial tasks to include: 1) the identification of roadside tests for drugs, 2) the development of a chart of drug signs and symptoms (to be specifically appropriate for use by European physicians) and 3) the preparation of a session for ICADTS in Montreal at T2002. If you share an interest in these or related topics, we invite you to join the working group. Contact: MBurns5573@aol.com.
Alcohol-involved Pedestrians
The Acohol-involved Pedestrians Working Group is Co-Chaired by Andrew Clayton and David Preusser. Their goal is to document the extent, characteristics, and potential countermeasures for the pedestrian-alcohol problem worldwide. This Working Group plans to develop a session for T2002 describing the worldwide health problem related to drinking and walking as well as countermeasures that are being formulated. The long-term goal is to monitor trends and facilitate the exchange of information across national boundaries. ICADTS members with an interest should contact one of the co-chairs (andrewc@roadsafetynet.com or preusser@worldnet.att.net).
Alcohol Interlocks
The new Working Group on Alcohol Interlocks, chaired by Paul Marques, is off and running, a timely development since new interlock laws are being written now. At the 80th TRB meeting in Washington, dinner meetings were held on Jan 9 and 10 at a local restaurant. Between the chestnut soup, coquille Ste Jacques and crème brulee, plans were set to produce two summary documents on behalf of ICADTS. One, ready by spring 2001, will be a consensus overview of the groups' recommendations. A larger more fully documented review of interlock research will be completed by T 2002 in Montreal.
Discussants from four countries (12 people in all) who have unique knowledge about alcohol interlock programs identified areas where policymakers, researchers, or program developers might benefit from their expertise. There was general agreement that the alcohol interlock shows promise as an important part of a DWI control program, but that emphasis should be given to: specifying features of interlock programs that should be required, distinguishing different incentive states of interlock users for compliance, and encouraging research on criterion-based removal of the interlock (rather than having duration preset by sentence length). These are among items on a longer list of important issues identified.
There was also speculation about an eventual merging of interlocks and intelligent vehicles systems. The group is determined to maintain a multinational focus as these discussions progress. Further input from others is welcome. The group expects to continue discussions by email and then meet again at TRB January 2002 in Washington unless an opportunity presents itself prior to that. For additional information, contact Paul Marques at: marques@pire.org.
Six technical sessions on alcohol and drugged driving were featured at the 80th Annual Meeting of the US Transportation Research Board in Washington from January 7-11, 2001. The sessions were sponsored by the Committee on Alcohol, Other Drugs and Transportation, chaired by ICADTS Executive Board Member, Dr. Allan Williams. The six sessions included, Drugs and Driving Around the World, New DOT Regulations, Effectiveness of Graduated Licensing, Alcohol and Special Populations, Issues in Alcohol Treatment,Alcohol Policies for Preventing Impaired Driving, and a session on Ask the Experts.
Summaries of all of the presentation made have been put together and are available upon request. If you would like a copy of the summaries, contact Dr. Williams at: awilliams@iihs.org.
Following the European introduction of alcohol ignition interlock (AII) programs in Sweden, the Commission of the European Communities has granted a study into the feasibility of EU-wide introduction. The aim of the study is to establish whether AII-programs are technically, legally and socially feasible in EU-countries and, if so, which type of application can be expected to be the most effective. The study aims at defining the conditions and set-up for a field trial in one or more EU-countries. SWOV Institute for Road Safety Research (The Netherlands) is acting as main contractor of the study. Subcontractors involved are: BASt (Germany), DTF (former Danish Council of Road Safety Research) and VTT (Finland). Relevant ICADTS members may be contacted by the consortium in order to give their view on the subject.
The project's kick-off meeting was held in Brussels, 23-24 November 2000. The project will be concluded by a one-day Expert Meeting at SWOV on 11 June 2001. The aim of the meeting is to ensure input from all relevant parties in the selection of countries participating in the field trial. Experts from research institutes and representatives of governmental bodies will be invited to attend the meeting on the basis of shown interest and/or expertise. For further information: charlotte.bax@swov.nl.
The U.S. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has rated the traffic safety laws of the U.S. states and the District of Columbia based on the likelihood that the laws on the books will enhance traffic safety by influencing driver behavior. IIHS did not evaluate every law, but looked at provisions of selected laws that research shows have improved driver behavior. States with laws that were hard to enforce did not get high marks. The categories rated included: DUI/DWI laws, graduated licensing laws, safety belt use laws, motorcycle helmet use laws and red light camera enforcement. Each states rating depended on wheather or not its DUI/DWI laws included an effective administrative license revocation law, 0.08 percent BAC, a readily enforceable zero tolerance law and whether sobriety checkpoints were permitted. Based on those criteria, the following states were rated Good: Alabama, California, Florida, Hawaii, Kansas, New Hampshire, Utah and Vermont. Thirty eight states were rated Acceptable or Marginal. The following states were rated Poor: Michigan, Montana, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Tennessee.
Specific provisions of selected traffic safety laws in 50 states and the District of Columbia are detailed on the IIHS web site: www.highwaysafety.org. (Source: Status Report, Vol. 35, No. 10, Dec. 20, 2000)
At the January meeting of the Transportation Research Board, Richard Blomberg of Dunlap and Associates presented the results of a project carried out in Baltimore, Maryland to deal with the problem of alcohol impaired pedestrians. The study was funded by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
A baseline analysis of local data found that alcohol use on the part of the pedestrian was a factor in approximately 40% of crashes in the city involving pedestrians 14 years of age and older. Most of the crashes occurred in two distinct zones of the city. An interdepartmental task force developed a prevention program named Walk Smart Baltimore. The countermeasures developed and implemented by the task force included a police training video, press kits for the local media, public service announcements for television and radio, brochures, posters, and flyers. Retro-reflective caps were distributed to individuals who walked in the high crash zones at night and roadway signs warning of high pedestrian traffic were mounted at selected locations in the zones where alcohol-related crashes were common. Using a surrogate measure of alcohol involvement (male victim, aged 30-59 involved in crashes from 7:00 PM to 3:59 AM, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights), the investigators found an overall 16% decrease in pedestrian crashes. The surrogate measure crashes decreased most markedly (22.3%) in the zones where the majority of countermeasures were focused. On the specific roads that were subject to the intervention, surrogate measure crashes declined by 37.5%.
The project prepared a "how-to" document on the program process entitled Five Steps to a Community Pedestrian Alcohol Program. It describes procedures that officials in other cities can use in planning and conducting programs to reduce their pedestrian alcohol crashes.
For copies of the document, Development, Implementation and Evaluation of a Countermeasure Program for Alcohol-involved Pedestrian Crashes, write to the Office of Research and Traffic Records, NHTSA, NTS-31, 400 Seventh St., SW, Washington, DC 20590, or send a fax to 202-366-7096. For more information, contact Marv Levy, email: mlevy@nhtsa.dot.gov.
A study carried out by Ralph Hingson and colleagues at the Boston University School of Pubic Health assessed whether persons who begin drinking at younger ages are more likely to report impaired driving and alcohol-related crash involvement over their life course. The study, funded by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, was based on analysis of data from a national survey conducted in 1992. In the survey, 42,862 respondents 18 and older (mean age 44) were asked about the age they started drinking, whether they ever drove after drinking too much, and whether they had been in motor vehicle crash (es) because of their drinking.
The results indicated that 65% of respondents ever drank alcohol, 49% had begun drinking before age 21, and 3% had started before age 14. Even controlling for alcohol dependence and other characteristics associated with age of drinking onset, the earlier the age respondents began drinking, the greater the proportions who reported driving after drinking too much and being involved in one or more motor vehicle crashes because of drinking. Respondents who began drinking before age 14 were three times more likely than those who began drinking after age 21 to report ever driving after drinking too much and four times more likely to report doing so in the past year. Respondents who began drinking before age 14 were seven times more likely than those who began drinking after age 2 to report being in a motor vehicle crash because of their drinking. Even after age 21, the older respondents were when they began to drink, the less likely they were to drive after drinking or be in traffic crashes after drinking.
Copies of the report, Age of Drinking Onset, Driving After Drinking, and Involvement in Alcohol-Related Motor Vehicle Crashes, are available from the National Technical Information Service, Springfield, Virginia 22161, telephone 703-605-6000 or online from the NHTSA web site, www.nhtsa.dot.gov.
The ICADTS Executive Board met at the recent Transportation Research Board conference in Washington, DC. Important points of discussion included the status of the working groups (see related articles in this issue), possible ways of expanding the ICADTS web site, and reports on the success of T2000 and on plans for T2002 and T2004. The ICADTS Foundation Board also reported on its decisions on uses for Foundation funding. The categories approved for funding through the Foundation are scholarships for ICADTS meetings to be awarded to people who could not otherwise attend, support of the working groups, and an award for the best poster presentation at the T2002 meeting in Montreal.
There was discussion on the reorganization and revitalization of the Journal of Traffic Medicine. The first issue of the Journal under its new structure has recently been published. The Board will consider once again including subscription to the journal as part of membership dues.
Executive Board meetings are open to all ICADTS members. The next meeting is tentatively scheduled for early June in Amsterdam. An announcement of the meeting time and place will be published when plans are finalized.
March 25-27, 2001
Lifesavers 19-National Conference on Highway Safety Priorities. Denver, CO, USA
Contact Lifesavers Conferences, Inc., PO Box 30045, Alexandria, VA 22310, USA, Tel: 703-922-7944, Fax: 703-922-7780
May 13-18, 2001
The Robert F. Borkenstein Course on Alcohol, Drugs and Highway Safety: Testing, Research and Litigation. Bloomington, Indiana, USA
Contact the Center for Studies of Law in Action, Indiana University, Sycamore Hall 302, Bloomington, IN 47404, Tel: 812-855-1783, Fax: 812-855-7542, Web site: www.borkenstein.com.
January 13-17, 2002
80th Annual Meeting of the U. S. Transportation Research Board. Washington, DC USA
Special alcohol and drug sessions will be featured. Meetings of the TRB Committee on Alcohol, Other Drugs and Transportation and the ICADTS Executive Board will also be scheduled. Contact Dr. Richard Pain, Tel: 202-334-2960, Fax: 202-334-2003, Email: rpain@nas.edu.
August 4-9, 2002
16th International Conference on Alcohol, Drugs and Traffic Safety, T?02- Montreal, Québec, Canada
For information visit the Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec Web site: www.saaq.gouv.qc.ca/t2002.