On October 10, 2002, Dr. Robert (Bob) Borkenstein passed away at the age of 90. He can appropriately be called the "Father" of the International Council on Alcohol, Drugs and Traffic Safety (ICADTS). He attended the first meeting of what was to become ICADTS in 1950 and provided the leadership and inspiration for organizing its international meetings through the next four decades.
Robert Borkenstein made two seminal contributions to the field of alcohol safety: (1) the invention of the Breathalyzer(tm) and (2) the conduct of the "Grand Rapids" study of the relative risk of a crash produced by a driver's blood alcohol concentration (BAC). Bob was not the first to invent a breath-alcohol-measuring device, but he was the first to invent an instrument so simple that any police officer could use it with high accuracy and minimal training.
Dr. Borkenstein left an important legacy to the field of impaired driving through his demonstration that rapid and valid breath-test measurements could be made by ordinary police officers. This led to the adoption of a breath sample as the method of choice for the enforcement of BAC limits in most countries and to the rapid development of small handheld preliminary breath sensors that provided the basis for random-testing programs around the world. He also left to his scientific colleagues an important instrument for the promotion and dissemination of research: the International Congress on Alcohol, Drugs and Traffic Safety.
To view the expanded tribute, visit the ICADTS website at: www.ICADTS.org.
The Call for Papers will be released in May 2003, and the subsequent procedures for submission, review, notification and proceedings publication will all be carried out electronically. A hard copy book of all abstracts will be issued to delegates as they register. The conference website is up and running at: www.icadts2004.com, so please visit, take a look and register your interest in participation. We are grateful to the Department for Transport, Great Britain, for so generously sponsoring T2004. Anyone else interested in sponsorship or exhibiting at the meeting should contact the organising secretariat by email, at: icadts2004@meetingmakers.co.uk. See previous editions of The Reporter for details about the scientific and social programs.
Two new reports recently published by The Walsh Group review drugged driving legislation in the U.S. states and discuss the feasibility of per se laws. These reports are the products of a grant from The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Substance Abuse Policy Research Program to review state laws regarding drugged driving, and to convene meetings of experts in a consensus development process to explore how these laws might be made more effective.
The consensus of the expert groups was that per se DUID laws are an acceptable extension of DUI statutes and represent a reasonable strategy to deal with the increasing problem of drugged driving. For more information about the reports, The Feasibility of Per Se Drugged Driving Legislation - Consensus Report and Driving Under the Influence of Drugs (DUID) Legislation in the United States, or to obtain copies, contact Dr. J. Michael Walsh at, email: jmwalsh@walshgroup.org, tel: 301-571-9494.
In a poster presentation at the Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board in Washington DC in January, William Frith of the New Zealand Land Transport Safety Authority summarized the findings of a survey of drivers in New Zealand (co-author was Lynley Povey). Fourteen thousand people from 7,000 households were interviewed about their driving and drinking patterns over two selected days. Based on survey responses, estimates were made of the number and type of driving trips under the influence of alcohol.
It was found that for every 10,000 trips made, 26 trips by males and 2 trips by females were made while alcohol impaired. During prime nighttime and early morning drinking hours, the corresponding figures were 142 and 6. These figures are comparable with those calculated from roadside surveys. Interestingly, one half of all alcohol impaired trips took place during the day, primarily due to alcohol consumed the night before that had not been fully metabolized. This finding has implications for enforcement and for public education. The authors of the study were encouraged by the potential of such a survey technique for providing detailed information about impaired driving. For the full paper, see the TRB Compendium of Papers for the 82nd Annual Meeting, Available from TRB, 202-334-2934. Or contact Dr. Frith: wrf@ltsa.govt.nz
A new report issued by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, reviews the existing literature on DWI screening procedures and instruments for evaluating drunk driving offenders and provides an inventory of procedures and instruments that state court systems report they are currently using. The review reveals there is too little rigorous research on screening for drunk driving offenders. This is particularly problematic considering that large numbers of people are arrested for this crime each year. No published studies were found that specifically address the issue of the screening process as an intervention in itself. The findings provide an impetus for suggesting a re-examination of the entire process of screening, monitoring, and treating drunk driving offenders. The report's authors, Lyiin Chang, Dr. Cindy Gregory and Dr. Sandra C. Lapham, make a series of recommendations to achieve that goal. For a copy of the report, Review of Screening Instruments and Procedures for Evaluating DWI Offenders, visit the foundation website: www.aaafoundation.org.
The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has a new brochure, FACTS ABOUT: Drinking and Driving and Hispanics. It covers such topics as: Risk to the Hispanic Population, Alcohol-Related Crashes as a Threat to Hispanic Life, Behaviors and Beliefs, Law Enforcement and Minority Organizations Mobilization to Show Strong Support for Hispanic Americans. The brochure points out that drinking and driving pose an even greater danger for Hispanics than for the general population, especially for newly arrived immigrants, who may be unaware of U.S. traffic laws. Some interesting facts include: a recent survey found Hispanic men had the highest rate of ever having been arrested for DUI, Hispanics believed that the number of drinks needed to affect driving was generally higher than whites and blacks, and one-fifth of Hispanic males who drove a car during the 12 months before the survey reported being drunk enough to be in trouble if stopped by police. On the other hand, 90 percent of Hispanics see drinking and driving as a major threat to the safety of themselves and their family and 94 percent say it is "very important" that something should be done to reduce drinking and driving. The brochure was prepared by Dr. Federico Vaca of UC Irvine and reviewed by Dr. Raul Caetano of the UT School of Public Health in Dallas.
For more information, or to obtain a copy, send an email to: multicultural@nhtsa.dot.gov, or visit the website: www.nhtsa.dot.gov/multicultural.
The printed version of the Proceedings of the 16th International Conference on Alcohol, Drugs and Traffic Safety is now available. The three volumes comprising 1,350 pages cover some 200 papers presented in the technical and poster sessions, as well as the opening and closing addresses and presentations before the plenary sessions. A copy can be ordered by sending your cheque for US$100 or C$150 to the order of SAAQ - T2002 Conference in care of: Ms. Joanne Bouchard, Études et stratégies en sécurité routière, Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec, 333 boul. Jean-Lesage, N-6-41, Québec, QC, Canada G1K 8J6. The papers are also available on CD ROM at a cost of US$28 or C$40. The Proceedings will be posted on the Internet in April 2003 with access at this address: www.saaq.gouv.qc.ca/t2002 or through the ICADTS website.
A new report by Jean-Pascal Assailly and Marie-Berthe Biecheler of the Institut National de Recherche sur les Transports et leur Securite (INRETS) of France discusses the problem of illicit drug use and driving. The report, Conduite automobile, drogues et risque routier (Driving, drugs and road risk) is a synthesis of publications, mainly American, European and Australian, based on experimentation or epidemiology and dealing with the problem of the use of illicit drugs, particularly cannabis, and road safety. The results of the various studies agree on the idea that traffic risk is related either to high concentrations of THC or to the combination of use with alcohol. The authors note that the impact of this combined cannabis-alcohol use, during weekends trips of young people (and adults) should not be ignored any longer and should lead to the implementation of future enforcement and prevention countermeasures. They further indicate that while drunk driving is beginning, at last, to be acknowledged as a traffic risk in France, illicit drug users do not yet perceive the danger related to accidents and that prevention in this field does not yet exist. The report, INRETS No. 42, in French with an English summary, can be ordered by visiting: www.inrets.fr.
In December 2002, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued a report on State Alcohol Related Fatality Rates (DOT HS 809 528). The report examines the extent of alcohol related fatalities in traffic crashes across states and over time (1982-2001) and normalizes this data by estimating the rate of these fatalities as a function of annual VMT. The report shows that alcohol-related fatalities fell from 26,173 (60% of total fatalities in 1982 to 17,448 (41%) in 2001. The section on the states presents estimated rates for each state over that period of time, the percentage change over the last 10, 5, 3 and 1 year periods, a table outlining the BAC levels of per se legislation, a chart with fatality rate trends lines from 1982 to 2001 and a map for each state that depicts the alcohol related fatalities by county. Contact NHTSA's National Center for Statistics and Analysis for information about the report. It can be viewed and downloaded form the NHTSA website: www.nhtsa.dot.gov.
The proceedings of the November 2002 symposium sponsored by the National Safety Council, entitled "Documenting the Science of GDL," will be published in the Journal of Safety Research and will be available in February, 2003. The symposium brought together experts from all around the world for a three-day review of research on graduated driver licensing. Any state legislator or policy-maker interested in obtaining an early copy can do so by sending a written request for "GDL Research Proceedings" to Bill Combs, National Safety Council, 1025 C Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Suite 1200, Washington D.C., 20036-5405 or email request to: combs@nsc.org.
With alcohol-related traffic deaths on the rise, the United States was handed a "C" grade in the war on drunk driving, according to the MADD Rating the States 2002 report card released in Novenber by Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and the GuideOne Foundation. The last time MADD issued the Rating the States report was in 1999 when the nation earned a "C+" grade.
"C is for complacency," said MADD National President Wendy J. Hamilton. "The nation's lower grade reflects the lack of political will, leadership and resources dedicated to waging a winning war on drunk driving." MADD challenged citizens and political leaders to "Get MADD All Over Again" by supporting an eight-point plan to curb drunk driving and underage drinking. The MADD report cards graded the nation, each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico on efforts to combat the most frequently committed violent crime -- drunk driving, and underage drinking -- the No. 1 youth drug problem. At the federal level, in the area of political leadership, the Administration's grade slipped to a "C" since the last Rating the States report released in 1999, while the U.S. Senate earned a "B+," and the U.S. House a "C." Nationally, law enforcement programs and blood-alcohol testing and data collection efforts improved to a "C+." Passage of administrative measures and criminal sanctions nationwide remained above average at a "B-," youth programs and underage drinking prevention efforts dropped to a "C+" grade, and victims programs dropped to a "D+." No state earned an "A" in this year's report. California received the highest grade of a "B+," followed by Georgia, New York, North Carolina and Oregon, which received "B" grades. The only state to receive a failing "F" grade was Montana. The District of Columbia received a "D+," North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Carolina and South Dakota received a "D." Alaska and Massachusetts received a "D-." Visit the MADD website at: www.MADD.org to view the full report.
An ongoing study by Bob Voas and others at Pacific Institute identifies behaviors and problems associated with young Americans crossing the border into Mexico in order to drink. Up to 7000 youth cross into Tijuana, Mexico from San Diego on weekend nights and 2000 cross from El Paso, Texas into Juarez, Mexico. Many social, safety, and health problems result from this traffic, but a recent finding is that 80 percent of border officials in San Diego report that these returning binge drinkers make their job more difficult by causing disruption and fights in waiting lines, an increase in the number of staff required at borders, and the potential for crowds and disorder allowing terrorists or criminals to enter the US.
A variety of strategies have been developed by the Border Project that have been shown to reduce the number of crossers and bring about a substantial reduction in alcohol-related crashes among young drivers. These strategies include a military requirement for enlisted personnel to have special passes to cross the border, earlier closing hours for Mexican bars that cater to young Americans, prohibiting border crossings by unaccompanied minors, and well-publicized increase in DUI enforcement in the border region. For more information about the Border Project, contact Bob Voas at voas@pire.org.
In a presentation at the January Transportation Research Board meeting, Veronika Shabanova of the Preusser Research Group reported on ongoing studies of the effects of two types of laws: 1) special sanctions for offenders with high BACs at arrest, and 2) "use and lose" laws that suspend the drivers license of young people under 21 convicted of any alcohol-related offense (including possession of alcohol and other non-driving offenses).
Regarding the first study, thirty-one states now have some sort of enhanced penalties for offenders with high BACs (ranging from .15 to .20 percent). The presentation examined laws in Minnesota and Washington State. In Minnesota, offenders who received the enhanced penalties had lower recidivism rates than comparable offenders with high BACs who received standard penalties. Recidivism results in Washington are currently being studied. Regarding the second study, 36 states now have laws that allow drivers license suspension for alcohol and drug offenses unrelated to driving. The study focused on Pennsylvania and Missouri. Findings in Pennsylvania indicate that young people who received a use and lose penalty were significantly less likely to have a subsequent impaired driving or other alcohol offense in the following two years and were also less likely to be involved in a traffic crash. In Missouri, the study found that most young people charged with a use and lose offense were not convicted of that offense but rather of an impaired driving offense. For more information about the studies, contact Veronika Shabanova at veronikashabanova@earthlink.net.
The Traffic Injury Research Foundation (TIRF) reported on its most recent survey of Canadian public attitudes as well as driving habits. Among other findings, TIRF reported that the percentage of Canadian women who report driving impaired has risen sharply since 2001, from 2.8% to 5.2%; overall, 16% of drivers reported driving a vehicle within two hours of consuming alcohol in the past 30 days; fewer than three percent of drivers account for more than 80% of all impaired driving trips; Canadian drivers support initiatives to deal with drinking and driving, such as mandatory breath testing of drivers involved in collisions and immediate impoundment of vehicles driven by impaired drivers. The Road Safety Monitor 2002: Drinking and Driving is based on a telephone survey of more than 1200 drivers. A copy of the full report is available at www.trafficinjuryresearch.com.
A feasibility study carried out by the Institute for Road Safety Research (SWOV) of The Netherlands found that motorists who combine the use of alcohol and drugs run a very high risk of getting involved in a traffic crash and sustaining serious injury. Their risk is several hundreds of times higher than that of sober drivers. Drivers who have only consumed a large quantity of alcohol (over 0.13% BAC), run a risk of serious injury that is 40-50 times higher than for sober drivers. The combined use of several drugs makes the risk of serious injury approximately 10 times higher. The study, carried out in cooperation with the Tillburg police district, interviewed and did blood or urine tests of a random sample of 816 motorists at different times and days of the week. Results of these tests were compared with those of seriously injured motorists admitted to a local trauma hospital. The study preceded the large-scale IMMORTAL international research project by the European Commission. For details on that project, see Vol. 13, No. 2 of The Reporter. For a copy of the SWOV report, visit their website at: www.swov.nl.
March 9-11, 2003
Lifesavers 2003 - Chicago, Illinois, USA
For information, contact the organizers at, Tel: 703-922-7944, Fax: 703-922-7780, website: www.lifesaversconference.org.
March 13-16, 2003
Alcohol Policy 13 - Boston, Massachusetts, USA
The conference theme will be: Preventing Alcohol Problems Among Youth-Policy Implications. Visit the AP13 website for conference information: www.edc.org/alcoholpolicy13.
March 16-19, 2003
Course on the Effects of Drugs on Human Performance and Behavior - 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, Email: dlindsay@indiana.edu.
April 28-May 1, 2003
16th Annual Conference of the International Association for Chemical Testing, Inc. - Cocoa Beach, Florida, USA
Testing for impaired driving will be the focus.
Contact Roger Doherty, Florida DOT, Tel: 850-410-4922, Fax:850-487-4224, Email: Doherty@dot.state.fl.us, Website: www.iactonline.org.
May 14-16, 2003
National DUI Enforcement Symposium - Evanston, Illinois, USA
Contact the Northwestern University Center for Public Safety at, Tel: 1-800-323-4011, or visit their website at: www.northwestern.edu/nucps.
May 18-23, 2003 and December 7-12, 2003
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, Email: dlindsay@indiana.edu.
September 14-17, 2003
Congress of the International Traffic Medicine Association - Budapest, Hungary
For information, contact the ITMA 2003 Congress, at: www.itma2003.hu or www.trafficmedicine.org.
September 22-27, 2003
3rd European Academy of Forensic Science Meeting - Istanbul, Turkey
Contact the EAFS 2003 Secretariat at, Tel: +90 212 287 58 00, Email: eafs2003@enfsi.org
August 8-13, 2004
17th International Conference on Alcohol, Drugs and Traffic Safety, T2004 - Glasgow, United Kingdom
For information contact Meeting Makers, 76 Southbrae Drive, Glasgow G13 1PP, Scotland, U.K., Tel: 44-141-434-1500, Fax: 44-141-434-1519,Email: icadts2004@meetingmakers.co.uk, or visit the conference websight: www.ICADTS2004.com