Preparations are underway for the 18th International Conference on Alcohol, Drugs and Traffic Safety. T'2007 will be held in Seattle, Washington, USA, from August 26th - 31st, 2007. It is the first time the conference will be held in the USA since 1989 and will be the first ICADTS joint meeting with the International Association of Forensic Toxicologists, another group with a similar interests in the area of applying technology to study and improve drug and alcohol related traffic safety.
The program committee has been appointed and is beginning work on the scientific program. Planned content includes work sessions on field impairment testing, on-road and simulator driving studies, intervention and relicensing strategies, DUI prosecution and adjudication, drug and alcohol epidemiology, random breath testing and checkpoints, and roadside drug testing.
The meeting will be held at the Seattle Sheraton Conference Center, and preliminary details of the program, dates and topics are posted on the conference website at www.ICADTS2007.org. Contact the organizers at T2007@wsp.wa.gov, or call 206-262-6000 with questions.
According to a study based on data from New Zealand, lowering the drinking age increases car crashes among youth. The drinking age was lowered from 20 to 18 in 1999. The study found that the rate of traffic crashes and injuries increased 12% for 18-19 year old males and 14% among 15-17 year old males comparing the four years before and after the New Zealand legislature lowered the drinking age to 18. For females, rates rose 51% for 18-19 year olds and 24% for 15-17 year olds. The study estimated that 400 serious injuries and 12 deaths each year among 15-19 year olds could be prevented if New Zealand raised their minimum legal drinking age.
There is no traffic safety policy with more evidence for its effectiveness than minimum legal drinking age laws, according to Robert B. Voas, one of the study's authors. Traffic crashes by young drivers were declining in New Zealand when that country decided to lower its drinking age. Thereafter, the overall road toll for those drivers rose dramatically. Most remarkable was the trickle-down effect that was seen in the 15- to 17-year-olds, Voas said. Clearly, they're getting alcohol from older friends.
People in the United States who argue for lowering the drinking age should pay attention. Currently, there are five U.S. States that have legislation pending to lower their minimum legal drinking age. The outcomes found in the New Zealand study are similar to those from the United States after drinking ages were lowered in many states the early 1970s. A number of studies on the effects of those drinking age changes showed a substantial increase in traffic crashes involving young people. Today, all 50 states have a minimum 21 drinking age. This study was published in the January 2006 edition of the Journal of American Public Health. The study was authored by Kypros Kypri, Robert B. Voas, John D. Langley, Shaun C.R. Stephenson, Dorothy J. Begg, A. Scott Tippetts, and Gabrielle S. Davie.
The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's National Center for Statistics and Analysis has released its Traffic Safety Facts 2004, which is a compilation of motor vehicle crash data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System and the General Estimates System. The number of fatalities decreased slightly from 42,884 in 2003 to 42,636 in 2004, and the fatality rate dropped to a new historic low of 1.44 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles of travel in 2004. Alcohol-related fatalities declined in 2004, to 16,694, from 17,105 in 2003, the second consecutive year in which alcohol-related fatalities declined. The percentage of alcohol-related fatalities declined from 40% to 39%. The full report can be viewed at www.nhtsa.dot.gov.
The legal BAC limit in the Czech Republic is 0.00. In 2005, road accidents involving impaired drivers amounted to 4.3% of all road accidents and 5% of persons killed. 8,192 road accidents were caused by alcohol impaired drivers; 59 persons were killed in these accidents. This is a decrease in the number of accidents by 3%. The number of persons killed remained the same as 2004. Overall, the number of persons killed dropped 7.2% from 1,215 in 2004 to 1,127 in 2005. Number of persons killed and seriously injured is the lowest since 1990. The number one cause of fatal accidents was speeding, at 47%.
Impaired driving became a criminal offence in July 2005 and is heavily punished by the penalty point system (7 penalty points). At 12 points, a license is withdrawn. Concerning enforcement, the police have the right to check any driver on the spot and all drivers involved in road traffic accidents are regularly checked for alcohol impairment. Initial breath testing is followed by a blood test in a hospital. Concerning drugs, beginning in 2006, police can conduct tests on the spot with a DRUGWIPE screening device, followed by either a urine or blood test in a hospital. (source: Road Accidents in 2005 in the Czech Republic-Basic Data, Ministry of Transport, Road Safety Unit, Prague, January 2006 and Jaroslav Horin and Zuzana Lisa of the Road Safety Unit)
The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has released a report that presents eight case studies of selected programmatic efforts intended to reduce the incidence of impaired driving and in other ways improve traffic safety. According to the report, each of the highlighted programs is unique, but all eight are characterized by sustained, high-visibility, special impaired-driving enforcement activity and all are supported by vigorous publicity and education campaigns. The purpose of the collection of case studies is to provide information about how jurisdictions might develop similar programs. The full report can be viewed at http://www.nhtsa.gov/portal/site/nhtsa/menuitem.b667872a33dbc6bbbf30811060008a0c.
The First Pan American Conference on Alcohol Public Policies, organized by the Pan American Health Organization and the Brazilian Government in Brasilia, Brazil, took place in November 2005. It was attended by 110 participants from 27 countries in the region. Dr. Ralph Hingson, President-elect of ICADTS was an attendee. At the conference, the delegates adopted the Brasilia Declaration on Alcohol Public Policies. This declaration states that alcohol is the leading risk factor for the burden of disease in the Americas and that alcohol-related harms have been neglected in the region and reaffirms the World Health Assembly Resolution (WHA) 58.26 of the World Health Organization, which urges Member States to develop, implement and evaluate effective strategies and programs for reducing the negative health and social consequences of the harmful use of alcohol. For more information on the declaration and the Pan American Health Organization, contact Maristela G. Monteiro, MD, PhD at monteirm@paho.org.
The conference and declaration are important steps in increasing attention to alcohol-related problems, including impaired driving, in the Americas. It builds on the involvement of ICADTS in the region, including the presentation by ICADTS President Han de Gier, at the 6th Brazilian Congress/4th Latin American Congress on Accidents and Traffic Medicine. ICADTS is also committed to involving more representatives from developing countries. (See related stories in the Fall 2005 issue of The Reporter.)
Several scientific and professional organisations will conduct a congress on the topic of fitness to drive and related safety matters in Europe from May 3-5, 2006, in Berlin. The theme will be Individual mobility, traffic offenders, traffic safety - A European challenge. The congress - organised by the Association of Technical Inspection Agencies (VdTÜV) - is meant to be the first in a series of similar meetings in the future. One of the objectives is to make an important contribution in halving road traffic fatalities within the EU to 25,000 in 2010, according to the goal of the conference of traffic ministers in May 2004, Dublin and specified in the Road Safety Charter. The congress, Fit to Drive, creates a forum dealing with the development of individual fitness to drive. The premiss of the congress is that the best possible support of individual mobility must be in harmony with safety demands of society. The co-operation of international competencies should serve to develop a European approach to meeting the needs. Speakers from EU institutions and many European countries will cover the following topics: primary prevention in pre-school, school and driver education and training; general prevention through legislation and enforcement, demerit point systems; secondary prevention with special focus on the hardcore drinking driver; risk assessment in medical and psychological issues; driver counseling, assessment, rehabilitation and therapy in different countries of the EU; interlock systems and rehabilitation; and comparative studies of traffic safety in Europe. For information about the congress, visit www.fit-to-drive.com.
A study that appeared in the December 2005 British Medical Journal, evaluated the relative risk of being responsible for a fatal crash while driving under the influence of cannabis, the prevalence of such drivers within the driving population, and the corresponding share of fatal crashes. The study looked at 10,748 drivers, with known drug and alcohol concentrations, involved in fatal crashes in France from October 2001 to September 2003. 681 drivers were positive for cannabis (cases 8.8%, controls 2.8%), including 285 with an illegal blood alcohol concentration (0.5 g/l). The presence of cannabis was associated with increased risk of responsibility (odds ratio 3.32). A significant dose effect was identified; the odds ratio increased from 2.18 with a low level of 9tetrahydrocannabinol (<1 ng/ml) to 4.72 at a higher level ( 5 ng/ml). The effect of cannabis remains significant after adjustment for different cofactors, including alcohol, with which no statistical interaction was observed. The prevalence of cannabis (2.9%) estimated for the driving population is similar to that for alcohol (2.7%). At least 2.5% of fatal crashes were estimated as being attributable to cannabis, compared with at least 28.6% for alcohol. The study concluded that driving under the influence of cannabis increases the risk of involvement in a crash. However, in France its share in fatal crashes is significantly lower than that associated with positive blood alcohol concentration. The study was authored by Bernard Laumon, Blandine Gadegbeku, Jean-Louis Martin and Marie-Berthe Biecheler.
IMMORTAL (Impaired Motorists, Methods of Roadside Testing and Assessment for Licensing), a special EU research programme dealing with the accident risk associated with different forms of driver impairment, has issued its final report. The project aims to investigate the influence of chronic and acute impairment in order to make a more accurate risk assessment, to recommend criteria for high risk categories, and to provide key information to support EU Policy on licensing and roadside testing. The findings include: 1) concerning the prevalence of psychoactive drugs, the proportion of drugged drivers has increased and that mixed consumption has become more frequent, 2) prosecution of DUI is urgently needed in case of alcohol, especially for drivers with high BACs, and drivers with combinations of drugs and alcohol and more than one drug, 3) legal framework for both prosecution and further research is important and still has to be established in some cases, 4) regarding the intervention methods, frequent random breath testing and Alcolocks are promising measures. 5) for illegal drugs that are taken alone, and with the exception of heroin, zero-tolerance legislation would seem to result in very high costs and hardly any road safety benefits, 6) for most medicinal drugs, therapeutic levels may be adequate as legal limits, at least for the time being.
The recommendations provide starting points for licensing, legislation, and measures. IMMORTAL reports can be viewed at: www.immortal.or.at. The project was funded by the European Commission. The final report was authored by W. Klemenjak, E. Braun, F. J. Alvarez, I. M. Bernhoft and L. Fjerdingen.
The ICADTS Foundation is continuing its two stipend programs to support young scientists and colleagues working in developing and transitional countries in the field of alcohol, drugs and traffic safety. These stipends are available to help colleagues attend ICADTS conferences.
The first stipend program is to encourage young scientists to develop their knowledge base and experience in different areas of alcohol, drugs and driving through participating in conferences. The second stipend program is intended to support researchers, students and other workers in the field from developing and transitional countries to attend an ICADTS conference. Preference will be given to first-time attendees. The maximum level of support for each stipend will be $1,000. The program supported the attendance of six young scientists and two from developing and transitional countries (South Africa and Nigeria) to attend T'2004, the 17th in Glasgow, Scotland in August 2004.
Information about the stipend programs and instructions for applying for one can be found on the ICADTS website: www.ICADTS.org. We encourage you to apply or to pass this information on to colleagues who may qualify for one of the stipends. We hope to see some new faces at T'2007 in Seattle, Washington, U.S., August 26-31, 2007.
The proceedings from TIRF's 5th Annual Ignition Interlock Symposium held in Tempe, Arizona in October 2004 are now available. The theme of the conference was Pushing Back the Frontiers. It explored developments in interlock programs, service delivery, and legislation. For more information, view: http://www.trafficinjuryresearch.com/whatNew/whatNew.cfm.
On July 1, 1999, Sweden implemented zero-concentration limits for controlled drugs in drivers. Eliminating the need to prove that a person's ability to drive safely was impaired by drugs has greatly simplified prosecution, which now rests primarily on the forensic toxicology report. A large case series of driving under the influence of drugs (DUID) suspects was compared before and after introducing zero concentration limits for controlled substances.
Immediately after the zero-limit law came into force, the number of cases of DUID submitted by the police for toxicological analysis increased sharply and is currently ten-fold higher than before the new legislation. Statistics show that about 85% of all blood samples sent for toxicological analysis have one or more banned substances present. Amphetamine is by far the leading drug of abuse in Sweden and was identified in about 50-60% of all DUID suspects either alone or together with other controlled substances. The next most frequently encountered illicit drug was tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), with positive findings in about 20-25% of cases. Various prescription drugs, mainly sedative-hypnotics, were also highly prevalent and these occurred mostly together with illicit substances. Opiates were high on the list of substances identified. Most DUID suspects in Sweden were men (85%) who were poly-drug users combining illicit substances, like amphetamine and/or cannabis, with a prescription medication such as various benzodiazepines.
Sweden's zero-concentration limit has done nothing to reduce DUID or deter the typical offender because recidivism is high in this population of individuals (40-50%). Indeed, many traffic delinquents in Sweden are criminal elements in society with previous convictions for drunk and/or drugged driving as well as other offenses. The spectrum of drugs identified in blood samples from DUID suspects has not changed much since the zero-limit law was introduced. The study was conducted by A.W. Jones and appeared in Traffic Injury Prevention, Vol. 6, No. 4, 2005.
Alcohol-dependent patients are responsible for two-thirds of motor vehicle crashes involving alcohol in Spain. A new study by M. Trinidad Gómez-Talegón and F. Javier Alvarez published in Accident Analysis and Prevention (Vol. 38, No. 1, 2006), analyzed the effect on traffic accidents of treatment of patients with alcohol-related problems. To do so, the prevalence of traffic problems in a sample of patients with a diagnosed dependence on alcohol was assessed for three periods: during their lifetime, in the year preceding the start of treatment and over the year of treatment.
A prospective study was carried out of 176 patients (147 males, 29 females; mean age 42.9 years) diagnosed as alcohol dependent in Castilla y León, Spain. 36.9% of the alcohol-dependent patients had had some kind of traffic problem during their life and 8.5% in the year prior to starting treatment. The most frequent problem was positive breath tests, followed by accidents with damage to the vehicle. Sixty-nine of the 176 patients were still receiving treatment after a year. The prevalence of traffic problems among those patients who followed treatment for 1 year (4.3%) was lower than in the year before treatment (15.9%).
The ICADTS Foundation is planning to institute a mentoring programme for the development of human resources involved in alcohol, drugs and traffic safety in developing countries. The programme will host workers and researchers from developing countries for six months at established centres in Europe, USA, Canada and Australia where ICADTS membership and recognized expertise are located.
After coordination and participation with the established centres and the developing countries where commitment to implement their strategies for road safety has been expressed, the six month program will be piloted and evaluated with workers from 2-3 different developing countries.
The Foundation is working with the World Bank and private agencies to secure the necessary funding and with potential host institutes to arrange for the first three participants. As the project moves forward, announcements will be made about how to apply for the scholarships.
The draft Circular, Drugs and Traffic from the Transportation Research Board Committee on Alcohol, Other Drugs, and Transportation is now available on the ICADTS website at http://icadts.org/coreports/drugsandtraffic2005.pdf.
The Circular includes papers and a summary of discussions from the recent workshop on that topic. The Circular was edited Committee Chair Kathryn Stewart. The workshop provided an opportunity for researchers from various areas of traffic safety and drug research to summarize and synthesize the current state of knowledge regarding drugs in traffic, including several important topics, such as the risks posed by drugs in traffic, the effects of drugs, medicinal drugs, the legal framework, and enforcement.
April 9-11, 2006
Lifesavers Conference - Austin, Texas, USA
The National Conference on Highway Safety Priorities
Visit www.lifesaversconference.org for information.
May 3-5, 2006
1st International Fit to Drive Congress - Berlin, Germany
The theme will be Individual Mobility, traffic offenders, traffic safety - A European Challenge.
Visit www.fit-to-drive.com.
May 21-26, 2006
The Robert F. Borkenstein Course on Alcohol and Highway Safety: Testing, Research and Litigation
Contact: Center for Studies of Law in Action, Indiana Univ. Tel: 812-855-1783, Fax: 812-855-7542, Email: dlindsay@indiana.edu.
Visit www.indiana.edu/~lawactn for information.
October 16-18, 2006
20th World Congress of the International Traffic Medicine Association - Melbourne, Australia
Contact www.trafficmed@vifm.org for information.
October 22-25, 2006
7th International Annual Interlock Symposium - Beaver Creek, Colorado, USA
Visit www.ignitioninterlocksymposium.com 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 info.