Planning is underway for the 18th International Conference on Alcohol Drugs and Traffic Safety, being held in Seattle, Washington, USA, August 26th-31st, 2007. We are particularly pleased to announce that this will be ICADTS first joint conference with the International Association of Forensic Toxicologists (TIAFT).
TIAFT is a similarly sized international organization dedicated to the study of human forensic toxicology issues including many topics of importance to ICADTS members, such as drug testing methodology, epidemiology of alcohol drugs and traffic safety, and the emerging field of roadside oral fluid testing of impaired drivers.
The meeting will bring together toxicologists, epidemiologists, law enforcement personnel, public policy experts, drug and alcohol treatment professionals, injury prevention specialists, public interest groups, and government agencies to apply their collective expertise to reducing one of the most preventable causes of crashes and injuries on roadways throughout the world. The conference is being designed to capitalize on the areas of common interest of both organizations, while allowing both organizations to meet the normal meeting expectations of their members. The meeting will feature joint plenary and scientific sessions and social events. The organizing committee is still developing ideas for the meeting content, and suggestions for special sessions, speakers, and workshop topics are welcome. Please contact Barry K Logan PhD, the conference Chair at barry.logan@wsp.wa.gov with questions or suggestions, or to be kept updated.
The meeting venue is the Seattle Sheraton Hotel and Conference Center in the heart of downtown Seattle, close to great restaurants, shopping and entertainment venues, and with ready access to many outdoor and recreational opportunities in the Pacific Northwest. Preliminary details about Seattle, the hotel and the meeting planning are available at: http://www.icadts2007.org/. Details will be added to the web site over the next year, so be sure to check in regularly.
The most recent edition of the U.S. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism's semi-annual health services research newsletter, FrontLines focused on Alcohol and Highway Safety Research, and more specifically, impaired driving/DUI issues.
The articles include: Alcohol and Highway Safety Research: A Brief History, Alcohol-Impaired Driving, Driver Alcohol Education, Effectiveness of Remedial Interventions, Technological Developments to Reduce Recidivism, and Five Steps to Adjudicate Repeat Offenders. The newsletter can be viewed online at: http://www.academyhealth.org/publications/frontlines/sep04.pdf.
To investigate the relationship between marijuana use prior to driving, habitual marijuana use and car crash injury, a population based case-control study was conducted in Auckland, New Zealand. Case vehicles were all cars involved in crashes in which at least one occupant was hospitalized or killed anywhere in the Auckland region, and control vehicles were a random sample of cars driving on Auckland roads. The drivers of 571 case and 588 control vehicles completed a structured interview. Self reported marijuana use in the 3 hours prior to the crash/survey and habitual marijuana use over the previous 12 months were recorded, along with a range of other variables potentially related to crash risk.
Acute marijuana use was initially significantly associated with car crash injury, but controlling for the confounders age, gender, ethnicity, education level, passenger carriage, driving exposure and time of day, plus other risky driving at the time of the crash (blood alcohol concentration, seat-belt use, traveling speed and sleepiness score), the effect of acute marijuana intake was no longer significant. There was a strong significant association between habitual use and car crash injury after adjustment for all the above confounders plus acute use prior to driving. The study authors concluded that this population-based case-control study indicates that habitual use of marijuana is strongly associated with car crash injury. The nature of the relationship between marijuana use and risk-taking is unclear and needs further research. The prevalence of marijuana use in this driving population was low, and acute use was associated with habitual marijuana use, suggesting that intervention strategies may be more effective if they are targeted towards high use groups. The study was conducted by S. Blows, R.Q. Ivers, J. Connor, S. Ameratunga, M. Woodward and R. Norton from The George Institute for International Health, Sydney, NSW, Australia and was published in Addiction (Vol. 100, No. 5, 2005).
A new study has shown that Environmental DUI campaigns similar to those validated in community prevention trials can be effective in college settings. It is the first to test the efficacy of an environmental prevention campaign to reduce DUI among college students. Students at the experimental university were exposed to a DUI prevention intervention that included a social marketing campaign, a media advocacy campaign and increased law enforcement (DUI checkpoints and roving DUI patrols). Students from two large public universities located along the US/Mexico border participated in the seven-semester study. In total, 4832 college students took part. Self-reported DUI (past year) decreased significantly from pre-test to post-test at the intervention school, whereas rates at the comparison campus remained stable. The campus-intervention interaction was statistically significant, suggesting that the campaign led to the observed change in DUI. Further research, however, is needed to determine the robustness of the changes associated with such campaigns. The study, authored by J.D. Clapp, M. Johnson, R.B. Voas, J.E. Lange, A. Shillington and C. Russell was published in journal Addiciction (Vol. 100, No. 3, 2005).
An editorial in the same journal, by Rob Tunbridge of the U.K., noted that there is increasing concern, particularly in Europe, at the high levels of drinking in young people of college age. This level is not only high, but is on the increase. A recent survey (2004) by the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD) focused on 35 countries. The survey, which looked at the habits of teenagers, found 26% of boys and 29% of girls in the United Kingdom had indulged in binge drinking at least three times in the previous month. For the purposes of the study, binge drinking was classed as having more than five alcoholic drinks in a row. Correspondingly high levels of drinking were found in Central European and Nordic countries.
Tunbridge agrees that further studies are needed to test environmental DUI prevention campaigns across different college settings and student groups, both in the United States and in Europe. Ideally, these studies should use roadside surveys of blood alcohol concentration rather than self-report surveys to assess actual DUI, since measures of BAC level provide a much better measure of actual road safety risk associated with alcohol. Finally, the value of such surveys would be greatly enhanced if they were linked to attitudinal and behavioural studies of student drivers which could throw light on the aetiology of DUI in this very important group.
A new report documents the findings from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau's latest survey of community attitudes on road safety. The seventeenth in a series of national surveys on community attitudes to road safety was conducted in March and April 2004. A total of 1,665 interviews were conducted with persons aged 15 years and over. The issues examined include: perceived causes of road crashes, exposure and attitudes to random breath testing, attitudes to speed, perceptions of police enforcement, reported usage of seat belts, involvement in road crashes, and experience of fatigue while driving.
Concerning alcohol and drink driving, 98% agree with random breath testing (86% strongly agreeing and 12% somewhat agreeing). Support for RBT has been in the 96% to 98% band for the last 10 years. Over three quarters of the total sampled population (78%) had seen police undertaking random breath testing in the last six months. This represents a increase in the reported level of RBT visibility over 2003 levels (75%) and continues the upward trend in perceived RBT visibility. 2004 data show that 29% of the community reported having been breath tested in the previous six months, a virtually unchanged result from 2003 (30%). Well over half the population (57%) report that they don't drink at all when driving. The corresponding figure in 2003 was 56%. This group comprises non-drinkers (19% - up from 16% the previous year) and those that don't drink when driving (38%). Females are significantly more likely than males not to drink when driving, largely as a result of being twice as likely not to drink at all (26% for females and 13% for males). The full report, Community Attitudes to Road Safety, can be downloaded at: http://www.atsb.gov.au/road/pdf/cr224.pdf.
In 2003, the Belgian Road Safety Institute conducted the third national roadside survey to estimate the proportion of drink drivers and their profile. The objective of the initiative was to gather data as a basis to formulate theory- and research-based recommendations to policymakers with the intention of decreasing the number of alcohol related accidents and victims on Belgian roads. Almost all Belgian police forces agreed to participate in a stratified two-stage cluster sample. First stage of the survey consisted of randomly selecting road sites (n=449) in each region. Second stage of the survey consisted of randomly stopping drivers of personal cars (n=12,891) during October and November 2003. All stopped drivers were asked by the police to perform an alcohol breath test. In addition, the police invited all sampled drivers to participate in a short questionnaire with individual variables (gender, age, etc.). The percentage of drivers who were found to have a blood alcohol concentration at or above the legal limit of 0.5g/l during weekend nights was 7.68% These percentages for other time periods are: weekdays - 1.76%; weekday nights - 2.99%; weekend days: 2.98%. The data appeared in a paper by W. Vanlaar in Accident Analysis and Prevention (Vol. 37, No. 3, 2005).
The U.S. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has published a special issue of its Status Report on Alcohol Impaired Driving (Vol. 40, No. 4, April 2, 2005). The special issue reflects on the alcohol-impaired driving problem worldwide and what to do about it. It is noted that important progress was made during the 1980s and into the 1990s toward reducing serious crashes involving drivers who were impaired by alcohol. But then the worldwide progress stalled and hasn't revived. Making further progress will require new ways of thinking about existing countermeasures. In the long run, new technology could provide an answer. The special Status Report reviews the progress that was made and points to ways to further it. The report can be viewed online at: www.iihs.org/srpdfs/sr4004.pdf.
In Austria in 2004, the number of road traffic accidents and persons injured declined slightly. The 878 fatalities was the lowest number experienced since 1961, when record keeping began. There were 53 fewer fatalities than in 2003, a reduction of 5.7%. There were 2,835 accidents involving persons under the influence of alcohol in which 4,017 road users were injured and 67 were killed. The number of accidents and injuries remained constant; the number of persons killed in alcohol-related (A-R) accidents shows a considerable decrease in comparison with 2003. In 1998, the introduction of a new blood alcohol concentration limit (BAC) of 0.05% led to the lowest numbers of drink-driving accidents and casualties. Since then, A-R accidents, injuries and fatalities rose steadily. In view of the increasing number of drink-driving accidents, in July 2002 the Federal Ministry of the Interior ordered by decree that all drivers involved in road accidents with persons injured must undergo a breath test. These tightened police checks lowered the estimated number of unreported cases. Furthermore, since 1998, more accidents have been classified as drink-drive related than before as a result of the lower BAC limit.
Drink-driving remains an issue concerning men. However, the proportion of women is increasing. 89% of drunk drivers involved in accidents are men. 10 years ago, the proportion of women was around 5%, it is now as high as 11%. In recent years there has been a steady increase in the number of young drunk drivers, especially for drivers aged 20 - 24 years. This is the age group that follows the end of the driving license on probation (with a BAC-limit of 0.01%). During night-time hours, young people predominate under the drunk drivers. On weekend nights and in the early morning hours (from Friday to Saturday and from Saturday to Sunday), around 50% of drunk drivers are between 17 and 24 years of age (Source: Statistics Austria, April 18, 2005).
On 1 May 1996, Ontario, Canada amended the Liquor Licence Act to extend the hours of alcohol sales and service in licensed establishments from 1 to 2 a.m. A study published in Accident Analysis and Prevention (Vol. 37, No. 3, 2005) evaluated the road safety impact of extended drinking hours in Ontario. A quasi-experimental design using interrupted time series with a nonequivalent no-intervention control group was used to assess changes. The analyzed data sets are total and alcohol-related, monthly, traffic fatalities for Ontario, for the 11-12 p.m., 12-1 a.m., 1-2 a.m. and 2-3 a.m. time windows, for Sunday through Wednesday nights and for Thursday through Saturday nights, for 4 years pre- and 3 years post-policy change, compared to neighbouring regions of New York and Michigan. The blood alcohol concentration positive driver fatality trends reflected downward trends for Sunday-Wednesday 12-2 a.m. and Thursday-Saturday 1-2 a.m. for Ontario and downward trends for Thursday-Saturday 12-1 a.m. and 2-3 a.m. for New York and Michigan after the extended drinking hour policy change. Ontario total fatality data showed similar trends to the Ontario blood alcohol positive trends. The multiple datasets converge in suggesting little impact on BAC positive fatalities with extension of the closing hours. These observations are consistent with other studies of small changes in alcohol availability. The study was authored by Evelyn Vingilis, A.I. McLeod, J. Seeley, Robert Mann, Doug Beirness and C.P. Compton.
Community interventions to reduce alcohol availability and increase substance abuse treatment can reduce alcohol related fatal traffic crashes. Five of 14 U.S. communities awarded Fighting Back grants by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to reduce substance abuse and related problems attempted to reduce availability of alcohol and expand substance abuse treatment programs (FBAT communities). Program implementation began on 1 January 1992. A quasi-experimental design matched each program community to two or three other communities of similar demographic composition in the same state. The ratio of fatal crashes involving a driver or pedestrian with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.01% or higher, 0.08% or higher, or 0.15% or higher were examined relative to fatal crashes where no alcohol was involved for 10 years preceding and 10 years following program initiation. Relative to their comparison communities, the five FBAT communities experienced significant declines of 22% in alcohol related fatal crashes at 0.01% BAC or higher, 20% at 0.08% or higher, and 17% at 0.15% or higher relative to fatal crashes not involving alcohol. The results of the study appeared in the Journal of Injury Prevention (Vol. 11, No. 2, 2005). It was conducted by Ralph Hingson, R.C. Zakocs, T. Heeren, M.R. Winter, D. Rosenbloom, and W. DeJong.
A recent study looked at fatal motor vehicle crash deaths in the United States by time of day, day of week, month, and season. It was found that on average, motor vehicle crashes in the United States result in more than 100 deaths per day, but there is much day-to-day variability. During 1986-2002 the single day fatality count ranged from a low of 45 to a high of 252. More crash deaths occur in summer and fall months, than winter and spring, largely due to increased vehicle travel. July 4 (Independence Day) has more crash deaths on average than any other day of the year, with a relatively high number of deaths involving alcohol. January 1 (New Year's Day) has more pedestrian crash deaths on average, plus it has the fifth largest number of deaths per day overall, also due to alcohol impairment. On other days the high numbers of deaths are likely due to increases in holiday or recreational travel. It was concluded that every day of the year results in many crash deaths, but certain days stand out as particularly risky. The temporal and geographic spread of crash deaths, as well as the view of driving as a routine task, inures the public to this continuing problem. Innovative strategies are needed both to raise awareness and to work toward a solution. The study, authored by Allan Williams and C.M. Farmer of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety appeared in the Journal of Injury Prevention (Vol. 11, No. 1, 2005).
This study aimed to gather information on drug and alcohol use, the prevalence of drink and drug driving and attitudes to both in a sample of 275 undergraduate university students at the Queensland University of Technology, Australia. Further, the study aimed to contribute information to aid intervention program development by determining predictors of drink and drug driving behavior. The study examined both drug and alcohol use and the influence of attitudes toward driving while under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs.
Results indicated that significant proportions of university students are engaging in the risk-taking behavior of driving under the influence of drugs (25%), alcohol (14%), or both (8%). The results suggest that attitudes toward driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs are a strong predictor of engaging in the behavior. Peer influence emerged as a major aspect of attitudes. The results of this study provide an important beginning to understanding drink and drug driving and the influence of attitudes in the university student body. The study was conducted by Jeremy D. Davey, Tamsen Davey, and Patricia L. Obst of the Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety-Queensland, School of Psychology and Counselling, Queensland University of Technology, Queensland, Australia. It appeared in Traffic Injury Prevention (Vol. 6, Issue 1, 2005).
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 23-28, 2005
48th International ICAA Conference on Dependencies - Budapest, Hungary
The conference theme is: Science, Politics and the Practitioners
Visit: www.icaa.hu or www.icaa.ch for information.
December 4-9, 2005
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 22-26, 2006
85th 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.
October 16-18, 2006
20th World Congress of the International Traffic Medicine Association - Melbourne, Australia
Contact www.trafficmed@vifm.org for information.
August 26-31, 2007
T'2007 - 18th International Conference on Alcohol, Drugs and Traffic Safety - Seattle, Washington, United States
Sponsored by ICADTS and The International Association of Forensic Toxicologists.
Visit www.icadts2007.org for information.