The Transportation Research Board Committee on Alcohol, Other Drugs and Transportation has planned a varied program for the 84th TRB Annual meeting in Washington, DC, January 9-13, 2005. Sessions include: 1) Alcohol and Other Drug Use among Elderly Drivers, 2) DWI/Drug Courts: Have We Finally Found the Silver Bullet? 3)Young Drinking Drivers: Who Are They, and How Can We Influence Them? 4)Crash Risk of Alcohol Involved Driving, 5) Alcohol, Drugs and Transportation: Presentations by Researchers "New to the Field", 6) World-Wide Trends in Impaired Driving: Emerging Concerns.
All the sessions and meetings will be held at the Marriott Hotel. The meeting of the committee will be held on Tuesday, January 11, from 1:30 to 5:30 in the Washington B-4 room. Please check the final program for session times and room assignments. For questions about the program or meeting, contact committee chair, Kathryn Stewart at: stewart@pire.org. Conference registration information is available at: www.TRB.org.
The ICADTS Executive Board will meet Tuesday at 5:30 pm following the TRB committee meeting. All ICADTS members are invited to attend.
The 5th Annual Ignition Interlock Symposium was conducted in Tempe, Arizona, from October 24-26, 2004. The theme of the symposium was Pushing Back the Frontiers. The largest conference of its type, the symposium explored the latest developments in ignition interlock programs, service delivery and legislative issues. The symposium covered such topics as: integrating rehabilitation, innovations in interlock programs, testing and certification issues, implications of the U.S. federal law (TEA-21) for interlock programs, update of international programs, and a research update. Interlock programs in operation in a number of U.S. states and Canadian provinces, as well as in Sweden and Australia were discussed. Keynote speakers included Wendy Hamilton, President of MADD and New Mexico representative Ken Martinez, the legislator who sponsored legislation that would have required all new cars sold in his state to be equipped with interlocks by 2008.
The symposium was organized by Dr. Doug Beirness and Robyn Robertson of the Traffic Injury Research Foundation of Canada (TIRF). It was sponsored by Alcohol Countermeasure Systems, Guardian Interlock Systems, Smart Start, Lifesaver Interlock, Monitech Interlock Systems, Dräger Safety, and Autosense International. ICADTS was a co-sponsor. ICADTS Alcohol Interlocks Working Group Chairman Dr. Paul Marques (U.S.) and other ICADTS members played prominent roles in the symposium. The presentations will be posted on the web at: www.ignitioninterlocksymposium.com.
The organizing committee has selected Annecy, France for next year's symposium. Currently planned dates are September 25-27, 2005. Annecy was the site of T'97. Keep checking back at the symposium web site for updates.
In an effort to address the issue of impaired driving, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) convened an Integrated Project Team (IPT) to study the issue and develop a set of recommendations. The full report (DOT HS 809 746) of the IPT, which recommends 16 separate initiatives covering a broad range of strategies, is posted on the agency's web site at www.nhtsa.dot.gov. To regain momentum regarding this issue and achieve the greatest impact as quickly as possible, the agency has identified three priority strategies that are currently being emphasized: (1) high visibility enforcement; (2) support for prosecutors and DWI courts; and (3) alcohol screening and brief intervention to deal with problem drinking behavior.
Concerning the enforcement strategy, the agency's goal is to reduce the national impaired driving fatality rate by encouraging and supporting adoption of high visibility impaired driving enforcement programs across the Nation, and especially in those States and jurisdictions with high numbers and/or rates of alcohol-related fatalities. NHTSA's objective is to work with State Highway Safety Offices and national law enforcement organizations to engage additional law enforcement agencies in both periodic impaired driving crackdowns and sustained impaired driving enforcement throughout the year, and to ensure that enforcement efforts are highly visible and well publicized through paid and earned media support.
NHTSA offers a variety of resources, including training programs addressing both alcohol- and drug-impaired driving, to support increased law enforcement participation.
Visit the web at: www.stopimpaireddriving.org, for further information.
The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration sponsored a review of the effects of first- and second-generation antihistamines on impairment. There is overwhelming evidence that the first-generation antihistamines produce objective signs of skills performance impairment as well as subjective symptoms of sedation. In contrast, second-generation antihistamines show a much lower incidence of objective skills performance impairment and no evidence of subjective sedation. The proper selection of second-generation antihistamines for treatment of symptoms of colds, flu, and allergies should produce little performance impairment performance on skills such as driving.
The authors of the review were Herbert Moskowitz, Ph.D. and Candace Jeavons Wilkinson, Ph.D. The full review (DOT HS 809) can be viewed on the web at: www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/research/antihistamines/Antihistamines%20Web/pages/TOC.htm.
Beginning in October 2004, alcolock (alcohol ignition interlock) devices will be installed in vehicles of five groups of thirty drivers each (Spanish and Norwegian public transport drivers, German goods transport drivers, Belgian recidivists and Belgian abstinent alcohol dependent patients) for a period of one year. Before, during and after this period, the impact of the alcolock will be assessed by means of in-depth questionnaires and by a monitoring of the data recorded by the alcolock. At the same time, the project will evaluate the practical and organizational requirements for alcolock implementation in both commercial and non-commercial European settings. In this way, the project will evaluate the feasibility of introducing alcolocks in a European context. The first results of the trial are expected to be available by April 2005.
Only in recent years, have some alcolock initiatives have been put in place in a few European countries (e.g. the United Kingdom, Sweden, the Netherlands). The European Commission's Directorate-General for Energy and Transport sponsored a European field trial on alcolocks in a consortium of five European partners: Belgium (Belgian Road Safety Institute, BIVV-IBSR), Germany (BASt, Federal Highway Research Institute), Spain (University of Valladolid), Norway (TØI, Institute of Transport Economics) and the Netherlands (SWOV, Institute for Road Safety Research).
Adi Ronen, and colleagues (Y. Moed, R. Gertner, T. Oron-Gilad, Y. Cassuto and D. Shinar) of the Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Israel reported on the relationships between subjective feeling, performance and physiological strain, while driving under the influence of two blood alcohol concentrations (BAC), 0.5 g/kg and 1.0 g/kg. The paper was presented at T2004 in Glasgow. Six male and six female students drove in a car simulator after drinking alcohol. All subjects reported that driving was difficult only at the high alcohol level. The ability to maintain lane position was affected by both levels of alcohol. Steering deviation was impaired only by the high alcohol concentration. Alcohol increased heart rates, but the driving task did not cause further increase compared to initial rest values. Heart rate variability decreased significantly at high alcohol levels. Subjects were sleepier while driving at the high alcohol concentration.
These results indicate that more than one variable should be considered when the effects of alcohol intoxication are being quantified. Despite the drivers' feelings, which were affected only at the high level of alcohol, performance measures, such as lane position and physiological strain, were affected by both levels of alcohol. In summary, this study emphasizes the importance of using multiple measures of alcohol effects in order to understand their impact on mood and behavior.
Adi Ronen was a recipient of one of the ICADTS Foundation Young Scientist stipends, that enabled him to attend the conference. The full paper can be found in the T2004 proceedings.
A paper at T2004 in Glasgow by Jim Fell, Elizabeth Langston and John Lacey of Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation summarized the evaluations of impaired driving demonstration projects sponsored by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and conducted in Georgia (GA), Louisiana, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee from mid-2000 through 2001.
Each of these demonstration projects emphasized highly visible enforcement coupled with intensive publicity. The variety of approaches used by the States in these demonstration projects offered a unique opportunity to explore the effects of different enforcement and publicity designs. Although based on the same general concept of increased enforcement, coupled with a strong public information and education component, the States were encouraged to develop their own programs and procedures. Different histories of DUI enforcement, legislative climates, laws, and management structures resulted in significant differences among the sites. All four States used earned media (such as press releases and project kickoff press conferences). Only Georgia used paid media, which was sponsored by a public/private partnership. All States conducted sobriety checkpoints to varying degrees, and most supplemented those with saturation patrols.
Georgia showed a statistically significant decrease (-14 percent; p<.005) in the ratio of drinking drivers to non-drinking drivers involved in fatal crashes compared to their surrounding States, accompanied by a 5 percent decrease in the number of alcohol-related traffic fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled (VMT) (non-significant). An estimated 60 lives were saved in the first year due to Georgia's program. The other states showed some decreases, but none were statistically significant. These findings are consistent with past research considering that Georgia followed very closely the "Checkpoint Tennessee" model of 1994-1995, conducting even more checkpoints per capita than in Checkpoint Tennessee and using paid advertising, sponsored by a corporate donor, to increase their awareness.
In summary, it appears that if states employ a sobriety checkpoint model that includes (a) a statewide effort, (b) numerous checkpoints conducted each weekend throughout the year, (c) intensive publicity about the enforcement (including paid advertising in Georgia's case), and (d) properly trained and equipped law enforcement officials, significant decreases in impaired driving fatalities can be realized. The full paper, which is included in the T2004 proceedings, describes the approach used in each state and the results obtained.
A new review: "Drug use and driving: Epidemiology, impairment, risk factors and risk perceptions," conducted by Erin Kelly, Shane Darke and Joanne Ross of the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre University of New South Wales, Australia, appeared in Drug and Alcohol Review (Vol. 23, No. 3, September 2004). The existing literature on the prevalence of drug driving, the effects of drugs on driving performance, risk factors and risk perceptions associated with drug driving was reviewed. The 12-month prevalence of drug driving among the general population is approximately 4%. Drugs are detected commonly among those involved in motor vehicle accidents, with studies reporting up to 25% of accident-involved drivers positive for drugs. Cannabis is generally the most common drug detected in accident-involved drivers, followed by benzodiazepines, cocaine, amphetamines and opioids. Polydrug use is common among accident-involved drivers. Studies of impairment indicate an undeniable association between alcohol and driving impairment. There is also evidence that cannabis and benzodiazepines increase accident risk. The most equivocal evidence surrounds opioids and stimulants. It is apparent that drugs in combination with alcohol, and multiple drugs, present an even greater risk. Demographically, young males are over-represented among drug drivers. Although there is an association between alcohol use problems and drink driving, it is unclear whether such an association exists between drug use problems and drug driving. Evidence surrounding psychosocial factors and driving behaviour is also equivocal at this stage. While most drivers perceive drug driving to be dangerous and unacceptable, there is less concern about impaired driving among drug drivers and drink drivers than from those who have not engaged in impaired driving. Risk perceptions differ according to drug type, with certain drugs (e.g. cannabis) seen as producing less impairment than others (e.g. alcohol). It is concluded that drug driving is a significant problem, both in terms of a general public health issue and as a specific concern for drug users.
A new study: "How can repeat drunk drivers be influenced to change? Analysis of the association between drunk driving and DUI recidivists' attitudes and beliefs," appeared in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol (Vol. 65, No. 4). It was conducted by M.D. Greenberg, A.R. Morral and A.K. Jain of the Drug Policy Research Center of the RAND Corporation.
Public policy interventions designed to deter or prevent drunk driving depend, in part, on modifying beliefs concerning the riskiness, social acceptability and immorality of driving under the influence of alcohol. The current study examined the association of these beliefs with the incidence of alcohol-impaired driving. Interviews were conducted with 273 people with multiple driving under the influence (DUI) offenses. Data included self-reported frequency of driving after drinking in the past year, as well as measures of moral and prescriptive beliefs concerning alcohol-impaired driving (internal behavioral controls), perceived risks of criminal punishment and accidents associated with alcohol-impaired driving (external behavioral controls) and perceived peer group attitudes toward alcohol-impaired driving (social controls). Each of these types of control factors had a significant protective effect. The study concluded that behavioral controls may protect against alcohol-impaired driving behavior even in a high-risk sample of repeat DUI offenders. Policy interventions designed to curtail drunk driving might seek to enhance these sorts of behavioral controls among DUI offenders.
An assessment was conducted of the effectiveness of Canada's first per se law criminalizing driving with a blood alcohol concentration of over 0.08%, the Breathalyser Law introduced in 1969, in reducing drinking-driver-related fatalities. The long-term deterrent effect of this law on driver fatality rates was also examined. Included in the analysis were such potentially confounding influences on drinking-driver fatality rates as the founding of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), Canada; the introduction of Ontario's mandatory seatbelt law; per capita alcohol consumption; the unemployment rate; vehicles registered per capita; and precipitation rates. A time series analysis was applied to the annual number of motor vehicle driver fatalities in Ontario for the period 1962-1996 to examine drinking- and nondrinking-driver fatalities. A significant effect was found for the Breathalyser Law in Ontario, which was associated with an estimated reduction of 18% in the number of fatally injured drinking drivers. No corresponding effect was observed for nondrinking-driver fatalities. Per capita alcohol consumption was positively associated with drinking-driver fatalities; Ontario's mandatory seatbelt law was linked to nondrinking-driver fatalities; and the formation of MADD, Canada, was strongly associated with both drinking- and nondrinking-driver fatalities. These data provide evidence that Canada's per se law had a deterrent effect that resulted in a reduction in drinking-driver fatalities. A long-term deterrent effect was also observed, which is in contrast to the early policy literature on impaired driving.
The article, "The criminalization of impaired driving in Canada: assessing the deterrent impact of Canada's first per se law", prepared by M. Asbridge, R.E. Mann, R. Flam-Zalcman and G. Stoduto, appeared in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol (Vol. 65, No. 4).
The Research & Statistics section of the Land Transport Safety Authority of New Zealand has released the results of its 2004 public attitudes to road safety survey. Highlights of the 2004 survey concerning alcohol-impaired driving include: 1) Risk of crash. Recognition of the risk of drink-driving is being maintained at a high level. Only 7% of New Zealanders agree that 'there is not much chance of an accident when driving after drinking if you are careful'. 2) Social influences. Peer pressure and social drinking are strong influences, though fewer people than in previous years agree that it is difficult to drink less than the group when drinking with friends. 3) Self-reported drink-driving. The percentage of people who said they had driven while slightly intoxicated during the 12 months before the survey, is continuing to decrease. In 2004, only 20% of drivers (26% of males) said they had driven while slightly intoxicated. People who said that they had driven while slightly intoxicated were more likely than others to say they enjoyed driving fast, and to have had a speeding ticket in the previous year. 4) Drink-driving enforcement. New Zealanders recognise that enforcement effort has increased over the last few years. Only 32% now believe that the risk of being caught drink-driving is small. 5) Effectiveness of law. Sixty-one percent of New Zealanders agree that the drink-driving laws are very or quite effective at reducing the road toll. 6) Blood alcohol limit. Forty-one percent of New Zealanders favour a lower legal blood-alcohol limit for driving. 31% think the limit should be lowered from 80mg/100ml to 50mg/100ml, and a further 8% want it lowered to zero. 7) CBT lowers road toll. Just over three quarters (76%) of New Zealanders agreed that compulsory breath testing (CBT) helps to lower the road toll. 8) Checkpoints. People are more aware of seeing checkpoints than they used to be. Forty-six percent of drivers reported having been stopped at an alcohol checkpoint during the preceding 12 months. 14% of all drivers had been stopped at a checkpoint 3 or more times in the last year. The full report is available at: www.ltsa.govt.nz/media/2004/041102.html.
December 5-10, 2004
The Borkenstein Course on Alcohol and Highway Safety: Testing, Research and Litigation-Bloomington, Indiana USA
Contact: Center for Studies of Law in Action, Indiana Univ. Tel: 812-855-1783, Fax: 812-855-7542, Email: dlindsay@indiana.edu.
January 9-13, 2005
84th Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board-Washington, DC USA
Alcohol and drug impaired driving technical sessions, and meetings of the TRB Committee on Alcohol, Other Drugs and Transportation and the ICADTS Executive Board will be featured.
Visit www.trb.org/trb/meeting for meeting information.
March 13-15, 2005
Lifesavers Conference 2005 - Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
For information about the national conference on highway safety priorities, visit: www.lifesaversconference.org.
June 16-17, 2005
4th Symposium on Workplace Drug Testing-Dublin, Ireland
The symposium is sponsored by the European Workplace Drug Testing Society.
Visit http://dublin2005.ewtds.org for information.
October 16-18, 2006
20th World Congress of the International Traffic Medicine Association - Melbourne, Australia
Contact www.trafficmed@vifm.org for information.