Now with just about six months to go to the event itself, the T2004 planning process has entered its critical and detailed phase. Each and every member of the Organisation team is determined to ensure that T2004 turns out to be a conference that everyone will enjoy and remember in all its aspects - academic, social and even cultural. We are working diligently to that end.
Well over 200 abstracts have been received, each of which has now been reviewed by the scientific committee. We are pleased to report that it was necessary to reject only a small number - mainly on the grounds of relevance to alcohol, drugs and traffic. The successful presenters are in the process of being notified of the requirements for paper submissions [content, style and layout], so that they can have their completed papers submitted to the scientific committee by the deadline date - 23 March. We are greatly encouraged by the number of papers that were submitted for presentation, as well as by the fact that five of these are from specially designated Young Scientists [generously supported by the ICADTS Foundation], and that others are from authors in countries which to date have not participated in the T Conferences. We extend a warm welcome to those delegates.
We have four previously advertised workshops: 'Police Enforcement'; 'Drugs and Driving - Licit and Illicit'; 'Legislative and Legal Issues'; and 'Work-related Transport Issues'. We have also added a special seminar that will take place during the afternoon of Monday 9 August. This is being organised by David Rudram of the UK Forensic Science Service, and is entitled 'The International Dimension of Type Approval Testing'. Its aim is to review the procedures by which the evaluation and approval of breath alcohol analysers [and now drug detection equipment] is carried out in various countries, and to discuss [and maybe even agree!] to what extent some form of Mutual Acceptance Arrangement might be possible and/or desirable. Further details are on the Conference website.
The Invitation to Register document is in the process of being distributed to all on our mailing list. However, it is also on the Conference website [www.icadts2004.com], where you will also find the on-line booking system-the easiest way to book! Please note that we are required to charge UK sales tax [VAT] at 17.5% on all transactions, but delegates from outside the UK should be able to reclaim this by submitting the appropriate form to the Customs Authorities. These forms will be available at the conference. I would also like to emphasize that the posted fees include the Welcome and Civic Receptions, plus the Wednesday Away Day, plus the Conference Dinner on the Thursday night. This dinner will be held at the Glasgow Hilton Hotel, in true Scottish tradition, and we encourage all visitors to enter into the spirit of the occasion by donning the relevant attire. Details of how to hire kilts and all the traditional accessories are on the conference website. At least this way you may get to learn the answer to that old question ...... !
If anyone has any queries or questions on any aspect of T2004, please contact the Clare Creswell or Maria McHugh at the Conference Secretariat - Meeting Makers Ltd - via the conference website, or by phone [(+44) 141 434 1500], or fax [(+44) 141 434 1519]. The entire team looks forward to welcoming each and every one of you to Scotland in August!
Dr. Paul M Williams, T2004 Organising Committee
ICADTS will present a series of awards at a special ceremony at the 17th International Conference on Alcohol, Drugs and Traffic Safety in Glasgow, Scotland, U.K. The prestigious Individual Widmark Award, and the gold medal that accompanies the award, will be presented to Professor Jørg Mørland, MD, PhD, Director of the Division of Forensic Toxicology and Drug Abuse at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. He is being honored for his lifelong work in the field of alcohol, drugs and traffic safety. He has made significant contributions to scientific knowledge and public policy in his own country and around the world.
In addition, the Preusser Research Group (PRG) of the U.S. will be awarded the Institutional Widmark Award, given to outstanding non-governmental research organizations that have contributed to the advancement of science in our field. PRG has established itself as one of the foremost research organizations dealing with highway safety problems resulting from drug and alcohol impairment.
The Widmark Awards were established in 1965 in honor of Professor Erik M. P. Widmark of the University of Lund in western Sweden, whose comprehensive research work during the first half of this century touched on all the aspects of the pharmacology of alcohol. It is the highest honor that ICADTS can confer on individuals and organizations that have made outstanding contributions to our basic knowledge of the effects of alcohol and other mood-altering drugs on traffic safety.
ICADTS will also present the Haddon Award for only the second time. The award will be presented to Ms. Beckie Brown, former president of the U.S. Mothers Against Drunk Driving. She had enormous influence in steering not only MADD's, but through MADD, U.S. public policy on impaired driving in a direction guided by science rather than emotion. The Haddon Award, established by ICADTS in 1999, recognizes 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 award is named in honor of Dr. William Haddon, Jr., a physician and epidemiologist, and 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.
The names of the previous winners of the Widmark and Haddon Awards can be found on the ICADTS website: www.icadts.org.
In October of 2003, the European Commission proposed a package of measures aiming at improving road safety through better enforcement of road safety rules. The package includes a recommendation to Member States on enforcement of road safety measures.
Best practice experiences show that if traffic rules were thoroughly checked and sanctioned, more than 14,000 lives could be saved and 680,000 injuries avoided on European roads each year. This would go a long way towards achieving the Union's objective of halving the number of road deaths by 2010. "We know why 40,000 lives are lost on European roads each year", said Vice-President in charge of Transport and Energy, Loyola de Palacio, "The main causes are speeding, drink-driving and non-use of seat belts. Legislation to crack down on this is already in place throughout the Union. However huge differences exist in the way these rules are being respected. National figures suggest that enforcement is one of the keys to enhanced road safety."
The Commission recommended to Member States to apply national plans including what is known to be best enforcement practices. Measures include automated speed enforcement systems, random breath testing and the use of evidential breath test devices, and intensive seat belt enforcement actions. All of these measures would be combined with publicity to reinforce their effectiveness. The Commission also recommends putting in place a mechanism for cross-border enforcement. For additional information, visit: http://europa.eu.int/rapid/start/cgi/file.tmp_Ref_1#file.tmp_Ref_1.
The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has issued the final report of a project entitled State of Knowledge of Drug-Impaired Driving. The project was conducted by Mid-America Research Institute, Inc. David Shinar of Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Israel, and J. Michael Walsh of The Walsh Group, Bethesda, Maryland, made significant contributions. This review examines research published during the 1981-2001 period and references some of the earlier material contained in prior reviews.
The scope of the review included foreign as well as U.S. literature with a direct bearing on highway safety. The review emphasizes controlled substances to include marijuana, benzodiazepines, non-benzodiazepine sedative and hypnotic drugs, and others such as amphetamines, cocaine, hallucinogens, and narcotic drugs. However, research related to any other drugs having the potential to significantly impair driving is also included in the review. It includes research pertinent to the detection and measurement of drugs in drivers, the experimental literature (including laboratory testing of human performance and driving simulator and closed course testing), epidemiologic studies of drugs and traffic crashes, and literature on countermeasures for drug-impaired driving. Copies of the report can be viewed at: www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/research/drug_impaired.html.
Citing the lack of substantial improvement in the number of alcohol-related fatalities since the mid 1990s, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released, on December 3, a high priority comprehensive departmental plan to significantly reduce impaired driving on the nation's roads in the coming years. The report proposes a multi-disciplinary approach to address the complexities of the legal, social health and safety infrastructures involved in control of the impaired driving problem. Key among the countermeasures cited in the report to address impaired driving is high visibility traffic enforcement, enhanced support for DWI prosecution and adjudication, and medical screening of high-risk populations for alcohol use problems. These three priorities will be the department's focus on impaired driving prevention in the immediate future.
"We already know what works to stop impaired driving," said NHTSA Administrator Jeffrey W. Runge, M.D. "These strategies will save lives today, if we work together to implement them in every community." The report is now available at: http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/IPTReports.html.
NHTSA has also published the State Alcohol-Related Fatality Rates 2002, which documents the extent of alcohol-related fatalities in traffic crashes in states from 1982-2002 and down to the county level for 2002. The report is on the Internet at: http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pdf/nrd-30/NCSA/Rpts/2003/809-673-color.pdf. A companion research note analyzes the trends in alcohol-related fatality rates, over the last few years by state. During 2002, more than 17,000 people were killed in alcohol-related crashes on U.S. highways, representing a death every 30 minutes. An estimated 258,000 people were injured in crashes where police reported that alcohol was present -- an average of one person injured approximately every two minutes. The alcohol-related traffic death rates decreased in 32 states but increased in 17 during the last five years. The note can be found at: http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pdf/nrd-30/NCSA/RNotes/2003/809-680.pdf.
Canadians appear to be getting the message that drinking and driving don't mix. Still, an estimated 3.4 million drivers report getting behind the wheel of a vehicle after consuming alcohol within the past month, and 1.4 million Canadians drove when they thought they were over the legal limit in the past year. These are some of the findings from the Road Safety Monitor's Drinking and Driving report released in December by the Traffic Injury Research Foundation (TIRF). The report also showed that only 6% of drivers know the alcohol limit in their province at which their licence can be immediately suspended for 12 or 24 hours. Findings of the Drinking and Driving Report include: 1)15.8% of Canadian drivers report driving a vehicle within two hours of consuming alcohol in the past 30 days; down from the 16.1% who reported doing so last year and the 16.7% the year before. 2)Drivers between the ages of 25 and 34 are most likely to report driving after drinking. 3) Drivers in Atlantic Canada are least likely to report driving after drinking (9.1%); those in British Columbia are most likely to report this behaviour (19.7%); 4) Of the 1.4 million drivers who report driving when they thought they were legally impaired, 21% admit to doing so four or more times. 5) Three percent of drivers account for more than 86% of all reported impaired driving trips in Canada. 6) 84% of Canadians still believe drinking and driving is a serious problem. "We are pleased with the apparent decrease in drinking and driving last year, but we can't be fooled into thinking the problem has been fixed," said TIRF President and CEO Herb Simpson. For more information, visit: www.trafficinjuryresearch.com.
Australia's road safety fatality rate needs to improve substantially to match the leading performers in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries, according to a report released by the Minister for Local Government, Territories and Roads, Senator Ian Campbell. Senator Campbell said the report ranked Australia 11th out of 25 member nations in terms of road fatalities per 100,000 population. In Australia, there were 8.9 road fatalities per 100,000 population in 2001, compared with the OECD median of 11.1 and best practice of 6.1 or 6.2 in the UK, Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands. "The number of people fatally injured on the roads each year remains unacceptably high and a concerted effort by all jurisdictions and road users is required to meet the national road safety strategy target of 5.6 by 2010," Senator Campbell said. Other measurements, however, put Australia in a more favorable light. In terms of fatality rates for 10,000 registered vehicles and vehicle kilometers traveled, Australia did better than average. The Australian Capitol Territory had the best record of any Australian State or Territory or any of the OECD nations while the Northern Territory having a rate of 4.9 fatalities per 10,000 registered vehicles compared with an OECD median of 1.8. The International Road Safety Comparisons: The 2001 Report is available on the ATSB'S web site at: http://www.atsb.gov.au/road/stats/benchmk.cfm
A recent article in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence analyzes the role of 9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in driver impairment and motor vehicle crashes. The article, authored by J.G. Ramaekers , G. Berghaus , M. van Laar , and O.H. Drummerd, points out that experimental studies have repeatedly shown that THC impairs cognition, psychomotor function and actual driving performance in a dose related manner. Detrimental effects of THC were more prominent in certain driving tasks than others. Highly automated behaviors, such as road tracking control, were more affected by THC as compared to more complex driving tasks requiring conscious control. Epidemiological findings on the role of THC in vehicle crashes have sometimes contrasted findings from experimental research. Case-control studies generally confirmed experimental data, but culpability surveys showed little evidence that crashed drivers who only used cannabis are more likely to cause accidents than drug free drivers. Surveys that established recent use of cannabis by directly measuring THC in blood (rather than metabolites that might indicate THC use days before) showed that THC positives, particularly at higher doses, are about three to seven times more likely to be responsible for their crash as compared to drivers that had not used drugs or alcohol. Together these epidemiological data suggests that recent use of cannabis may increase crash risk, whereas past use of cannabis does not. Combined use of THC and alcohol produced severe impairment of cognitive, psychomotor, and actual driving performance in experimental studies and sharply increased the crash risk in epidemiological analyses. (Source: Drug and Alcohol Dependence 73 (2004) 109-119.)
In response to a growing concern about road traffic injuries, the World Health Organization Director-General has, for the first time in the history of WHO, devoted a World Health Day specifically to Road Safety. Each year road traffic injuries take the lives of 1.2 million men, women and children around the world, and seriously injure millions more. The death toll is highest and still growing in low and middle-income countries, where pedestrians, motorcyclists, cyclists and passengers are especially vulnerable. In addition to human suffering, estimated costs of road traffic injuries are between 1% and 2% of GNP per annum in these countries. This represents a loss of approximately US$ 65 billion every year; almost twice the total development assistance received worldwide by developing countries.
The WHO and the World Bank will jointly issue a World Report on Road Traffic Injury Prevention. The report will document what is known about the magnitude of road traffic injuries and offer science-based evidence and solutions to address the problem. The report will be launched on World Health Day, April 7, 2004. A one-year global road safety campaign will follow the launch of the report. The abuse of alcohol and drugs is one of the major issues to be included in the report.
As part of the campaign countries are encouraged to observe World Health Day and develop the strategies to reduce traffic crashes. ICADTS President Han de Gier has written to the ministers of health and transport of developing countries offering the assistance of ICADTS as countries develop their prevention plans. For information about WHD and how you can become involved, contact Laura Sminkey, WHD 2004 Liaison Officer at: sminkeyl@who.int or visit: www.who.int/world-health-day/2004.
The U.K. Department for Transport has published a report on the extent of unlicensed driving, which found that there are around a million unlicensed drivers on United Kingdom roads compared with a total of 32 million legal drivers. The report notes that while these drivers account for less than one percent of total hours driven, unlicensed drivers are up to nine times more likely to have an accident than licensed drivers. The full report can be viewed at: www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_rdsafety/documents/page/dft_rdsafety_026250.pdf.
Former ICADTS President, Dr. Herb M. Simpson, President and CEO of the Ottawa-based Traffic Injury Research Foundation (TIRF) has received the "Humanitarian of the Year" award from the Washington, D.C.-based National Commission Against Drunk Driving (NCADD). The NCADD is the successor to the Presidential Commission on Drunk Driving appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1982. Dr. Simpson was selected in recognition of his pioneering work on hard core drunk drivers.
The U.S. Transportation Research Board Committee on Alcohol, Other Drugs, and Traffic Safety has completed a Circular reporting on its summer workshop Putting Research into Action: A Symposium on the Implementation of Research-Based Impaired Driving Countermeasures. The symposium included invited participants from the committee as well as legislators, judicial representatives, state-level policy-makers, representatives from advocacy groups, trauma physicians, and others with an interest in impaired driving prevention. The Circular, edited by the committee chair, Kathryn Stewart, includes background papers on the general theory of translating research into policy and practice as well as proven but underutilized strategies such as primary seatbelt enforcement laws, sobriety checkpoints, vehicle sanctions, ignition interlock programs, and alcohol policy. Case studies of successful strategy adoption are also included. An introduction and overview summarizes some of the key issues that emerged from discussion. The draft Circular will soon be posted on the ICADTS website.
February 23-24, 2004
Symposium on Developing Global Strategies for Identifying, Prosecuting, and Treating Drug-Impaired Drivers - Tampa, FL
Visit: www.walshgroup.org/tampa.htm for additional information.
March 28-30, 2004
Lifesavers 2004 - San Diego, California USA
The National Conference on Highway Safety Priorities. For more information, visit: www.lifesaversconference.org.
May 9-14, 2004
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.
July 13-15, 2004
16th Annual Symposium on Alcohol and Drug Impaired Driving Enforcement - Clearwater, Florida USA
Visit the Institute of Police Technology and Management website at: www.iptm.org for information or to register.
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 website: www.ICADTS2004.com.