Plans are well under way for the 2007 International Conference on Alcohol, Drugs and Traffic Safety, T2007, to be held in Seattle, WA, USA, August 26th-30th, 2007. This meeting, ICADTS' first joint meeting with The International Association of Forensic Toxicologists (TIAFT), will provide a spotlight on the toxicology of alcohol, drugs and traffic safety, while retaining all the normal topic areas for ICADTS meetings. In addition, the Annual Ignition Interlock Symposium will also be part of T2007. The conference is being held in the Seattle Sheraton Hotel and Conference Center - a newly renovated world class meeting space - hotel reservations at the conference rate must be booked through the T2007 website, on the "hotel" tab at www.T2007.org.
The conference is structured with a strong scientific program, supported by a complete social program for relaxation and networking. It features receptions at the Seattle Art Museum and the Museum of Flight, one of the world's top collections showing the history and development of human flight. The meeting will be capped off with the annual awards banquet. There will be a choice of several tours on Tuesday afternoon for delegates to various sites in the Pacific Northwest. Preliminary information on the tour options and the rest of the program is available on the web site.
The scientific organizing committee, co-chaired by Dr. Doug Beirness, Dr. Jorg Morland and Dr. Michael Walsh, is soliciting papers in the subject areas of impaired driving, human performance toxicology, analytical methods, any aspect of alcohol, drugs and traffic safety including experimental studies of the effects of alcohol and/or drugs on driving, approaches to detecting drugged drivers, oral fluid technology, detection limits and device performance, demographics of drunk and drugged drivers, roadside surveys of alcohol and drug use, sobriety checkpoints, enforcement of DWI-DUID laws, alcohol ignition interlocks, rehabilitation, characteristics of offenders, prevention activities, epidemiological studies, and other related topics. Dr. Paul Marques will be coordinating the ignition interlock portion of the program.
The web site will go live for online registration and online abstract submission on December 1st, 2006. Abstracts are due March 31st, 2007 and must be submitted online. The cut-off for the early registration rate is June 30th, 2007. Make your plans now and visit the website (www.T2007.org) for regular updates!
The Transportation Research Board Committee on Alcohol, Other Drugs and Transportation has planned a full and varied program for the 86th TRB Annual meeting in Washington, DC, January 21-25, 2007. Sessions include: 1) Unlicensed Drivers: How Big is the Problem and What Can Be Done about It? An International Perspective, 2) Update on Alcohol Ignition Interlocks, 3) Alcohol, Drugs, and Driving: Pilot Study for the Next National Roadside Survey, 4) Emerging Issues in Highway Safety across Three Continents: Europe, Australia and the North America, 5) New to the Field: Alcohol Research, and 6) Alcohol and Motorcycles. There will also be a poster session that includes papers on alcohol research. The meeting of the committee will be held on Monday, January 22, at 1:30 PM. 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 on Tuesday, January 23 at 1:30 PM. All ICADTS members are invited to attend.
The Brain Sciences Institute of Swinburne University of Technology held a Drugs and Driving Seminar in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia on October 13.
Presentations included: The Effectiveness of Random Roadside Drug Testing of Drivers as a Deterrence Strategy by Inspector Martin Boorman, Traffic Alcohol Section, Victoria Police (delivered by Philip Swann); Cannabis and Driving by Dr Katherine Papafotiou, Coordinator Drugs and Driving Research Unit, Brain Sciences Institute; Amphetamines and Driving by Dr Edward Ogden, Medical Consultant and Research Fellow, Brain Sciences Institute and Sleep deprivation and Performance by Melinda Jackson, PhD Candidate, Brain Sciences Institute. Barry Sweedler and Kathryn Stewart of Safety and Policy Analysis International presented on Worldwide Trends in Alcohol and Drug Impaired Drivers and Drug Impairment in Traffic: A problem in Perspective. Dr Papafotiou also provided an overview of the research conducted by the Drugs and Driving Research Unit of the Brain Sciences Institute.
In addition, a Monograph was released and discussed reporting on a 3- year study that examined the effects of cannabis alone and combined with 0.03% BAC and 0.05% BAC on driving performance. The study examined the accuracy of Standardized Field Sobriety Tests (SFSTs) to predict the presence of cannabis and alcohol and driving impairment. The study also assessed the inter-rater reliability of SFSTs. The research was funded by the National Drug Law Enforcement Research Fund, which is an initiative of the National Drug Strategy of Australia.
To view the presentations and learn how to obtain the monograph (ISBN: 0 642 47435 4, ISSN: 1449-7476) visit the Brain Sciences Institute website at: http://www.swinburne.edu.au/lss/bsi/index.html.
Mothers Against Drunk Driving U.S. is planning a Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving. The campaign contains four initiatives: 1) Full support for high visibility enforcement (Over the Limit, Under Arrest) with checkpoints and saturation patrols in all 50 states. 2) Full implementation of current technology interlocks on first offense in all 50 states. 3) Cooperative Research Initiative aimed at advanced technology interlocks at .08 BAC for the general population in ten year time-frame, and 4) Public support initiatives to enact strong state laws and support advanced technology. The details of the public/private partnership will be announced on Nov. 20 at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. Check the MADD website at: www.MADD.org.
After the publication in 2001 of a report on Prescribing and Dispensing Guidelines for Medicinal Drugs Affecting Driving Performance, the working group has contributed to the dissemination of information to target populations. These groups include patient-drivers, physicians, pharmacists, and authorities with responsibilities in road safety and public health. The working group has particularly emphasized prescribing and dispensing impairing medicinal drugs and information that will allow patients to be more aware of signs of impaired driving performance. However, it was discussed that a list with medicinal drugs categorized according to their impairing properties was needed. The practical use of the guidelines would benefit from the availability of such a list, because it would allow the prescribing doctor and dispensing pharmacist to look for safer alternatives within one specific therapeutic class.
The working group assessed the available knowledge regarding a graded level warning systems that exist in Belgium, France and Spain, and composed the ICADTS list. The list was completed by a group of experts from these respective countries, Prof. Alain Verstraete, Dr. Charles Mercier-Guyon, and Prof. Javier Alvarez and chaired by Prof. Dr. Han de Gier of the Netherlands. The list can be downloaded with the guidelines for its application from the ICADTS website: www.icadts.org. Go to ICADTS Working Group, and find the new information under Medicinal Drugs and Driving Performance'. The working group would greatly appreciate receiving responses from physicians and pharmacists, and other professionals sharing their experiences with the application of the categorization system. This would allow the working group to improve its information. Please send your comments and suggestions to Prof. de Gier, at: degiercs@wxs.nl.
A major problem in assessing the impact of drugs on driving is the fact that the variables being measured across studies vary significantly. In studies being reported in a growing literature the basic parameters being assessed, the analytical techniques being used, and the drugs being testing for, are simply not comparable due to a lack of standardization in the field.
In early September, The Walsh Group organized and hosted a 4-day meeting of experts in "Drugged Driving" research. The international experts in attendance represented nine countries and three continents. The meeting was co-sponsored by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, The European Commission, The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs & Drug Addiction, The International Council on Alcohol, Drugs and Traffic Safety, The International Association of Forensic Toxicologists, and the French Society of Analytical Toxicologists. The meeting was held in Talloires, France.
The goal of the meeting was to develop a set of standards for "Drugged Driving" research designed to insure the comparability of data from country to country. Recently, the European Commission funded a 4-year, 25M Euro research project, Project DRUID [Driving Under the Influence of Drugs]. This project involves some 40 research teams in 17 different countries, and standardization of data collection is imperative. The product from the Talloires meeting is a draft "standards" document integrating the discussions and recommendations posed throughout the proceedings.
Utilizing the Delphi Method, the draft document will be posted on the ICADTS and TIAFT websites in the next few months where comments will be solicited from ICADTS and TIAFT members and the greater drug-impaired driving research community. It is anticipated that the final version of the standards document will be available for distribution at T2007, the 18th International Conference on Alcool, Drugs and Traffic Safety conference in August 2007 in Seattle.
The U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has released motor vehicle traffic crash fatality statistics for 2005. According to NHTSA, the total number of fatalities rose 1.4 percent from 42,836 in 2004 to 43,443 in 2005 while the rate of fatalities was 1.47 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled (VMT), up from 1.45 in 2004. Fatalities at or above a BAC of .08 g/dL declined by 0.4%, while fatalities between a BAC of .01 to .07 g/dL increased by 0.9%.
A press release on the new data suggests that the increase in vehicle fatalities comes from the rise in the number of motorcycle fatalities and increases in the number of pedestrian fatalities over the previous year. Motorcycle fatalities rose 13 percent from 4,028 in 2004 to 4,553 in 2005. Almost half of the people who died were not wearing a helmet. The number of motorcycle riders killed in alcohol-related crashes increased by 10%. The number of pedestrian fatalities increased to 4,881 in 2005 from 4,675 in 2004. NHTSA is investigating this year's increase in pedestrian fatalities to determine the causes. The full report can be viewed at: http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pdf/nrd-30/ncsa/ppt/2006/810639.pdf.
Cannabis use has been associated with increased risk of becoming involved in traffic accidents; however, the relation between THC concentration and driver impairment is relatively obscure. A new study conducted by J.G. Ramaekers, P. van Ruitenbeek, and E.L. Theunissen of the Netherlands, and M.R. Moeller, E. Schneider and G. Kauert of Germany was designed to define performance impairment as a function of THC in serum and oral fluid in order to provide a scientific framework to the development of per se limits for driving under the influence of cannabis.
Twenty recreational users of cannabis participated in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, three-way cross-over study. Subjects were administered single doses of 0, 250 and 500 µg/kg THC by smoking. Performance tests measuring skills related to driving were conducted at regular intervals up to six hours post smoking and included measures of perceptual-motor control, motor impulsivity, and cognitive function. Blood and oral fluid were collected throughout testing.
Results showed a strong and linear relation between THC in serum and oral fluid. Linear relations between magnitude of performance impairment and THC in oral fluid and serum, however, were low. A more promising way to define threshold levels of impairment was found by comparing the proportion of observations showing impairment or no impairment as a function of THC concentration. The proportion of observations showing impairment increased as a function of serum THC in every task. At concentrations between 5 and 10 ng/ml, 75-90% of the observations were indicative of significant impairment in every performance test. At THC concentrations >30 ng/ml the proportion of observations indicative of impairment increased to 100%. The study appeared in Drug and Alcohol Dependence, Vol. 85, Issue 2, November 2006.
Two recent publications authored by ICADTS President Ralph Hingson and colleagues indicate that people who begin drinking at an early age are more likely to develop alcohol dependency and less likely to seek help despite their alcohol problems. The studies were based on analysis of face-to-face survey data from a probability sample of more than 43,000 adults. Relative to respondents who began drinking at 21 years or older, those who began drinking before age 14 years were more likely to experience alcohol dependence ever and within 10 years of first drinking. Analysis of the same data set also indicated that, relative to those first alcohol dependent at 30 years or older, the odds of ever seeking help were lower among those first dependent before ages 18, 20, and 25. The authors concluded that the studies provide yet more evidence of the need to screen and counsel adolescents about alcohol use and to implement policies and programs that delay alcohol consumption. The two papers are: Age at Drinking Onset and Alcohol Dependence - Age at Onset, Duration, and Severity, (Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Vol. 160, July 2006, pages 739-746) and Age of Alcohol-Dependence Onset: Associations With Severity of Dependence and Seeking Treatment (Pediatrics, Vol. 118, 2006, pages 755-763). Dr. Hingson's co-authors are Timothy Heeren and Michael R. Winter.
A journal article by James C. Fell and Robert B. Voas discusses the first 25 years of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and its impact on alcohol-related crashes in the U.S. MADD has arguably been one of the most successful public-health grassroots citizen advocacy organizations in the United States in the past century. In 2005, MADD celebrated the 25th anniversary of its founding. Based on a national poll by the Gallup Organization in 2005, MADD is recognized by 94% of citizens. It is generally given credit for changing American attitudes toward drinking and driving. Since MADD's founding in 1980, alcohol-related traffic deaths in the United States have decreased from an estimated 30,000 to 16,694 in 2004, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
This article examines the growth of MADD since its founding and attempts to gauge its contribution to the public's understanding of the impaired-driving problem and to the reductions in alcohol-related highway deaths and injuries that have occurred in the first 25 years of its existence. The article appeared in Traffic Injury Prevention (Vol. 7, Issue 3, September 2006) along with a commentary by Barry Sweedler on the role of MADD in reducing alcohol-related crashes in the U.S.
The recently held 7th Annual Ignition Interlock Symposium at Bachelor Gulch near Vail, Colorado covered a number of diverse themes. The program included: A Roundtable and Debate and presentations on the Pros and Cons of Administrative and Judicial Interlock Programs, Alcohol Sensing in Vehicles for Primary Prevention, Current Views on Model Interlock Programs, and Increasing Interlock Impact with Legislation and Media to Promote Interlock Safety. Interlock programs in Australia, Europe, Canada and the U.S. were discussed, as were voluntary and mandatory programs. Commercial interlock programs and those used in transit systems were also featured on the program.
In his keynote address, Chuck Hurley, MADD's CEO outlined his goal of increasing ignition interlock use from the current approximately 100,000 DWI offenders (out of the 1.4 million arrested annually) to 500,000 in five years. Other speakers came from the research community, governments, service providers, state regulators, and equipment manufacturers.
The symposium program was put together by Paul Marques of Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation (PIRE), who also served as the symposium host. It was sponsored by Alcohol Countermeasure Systems, Guardian Interlock Systems, Smart Start Inc., Lifesafer Interlock, Monitech Interlock Systems, Dräger Safety, TransBioTec and PIRE. ICADTS was a co-sponsor. The ICADTS Alcohol Interlocks Working Group also met prior to the symposium and numerous ICADTS members played prominent roles in the symposium.
The PowerPoint presentations plus short summaries of the papers are now being added to the symposium repository on the PIRE website at: www.pire.org/interlocksymposium.htm. Additional content will be posted as it becomes available. Next year's symposium will be held in conjunction with T2007 in Seattle, August 26-31, 2007.
An Insurance Institute for Highway Safety report by Allan F. Williams, Anne T. McCartt and Susan A. Ferguson reviews the role of the hardcore drinking driver in the total alcohol-related crash problem.
As progress against alcohol-impaired driving slowed in the early 1990s, public and political attention turned to "hardcore" drinking drivers, and they have been a priority for the past 15 years. Emphasis on the hardcore has focused attention on the small proportion of drinking drivers who have been detected and arrested, whereas the vast majority of drinking drivers go undetected.
Some countermeasures aimed at the hardcore group have been effective in reducing recidivism, but attention and resources also need to be given to general deterrent initiatives (e.g., 0.08 g/dL, sobriety checkpoints, administrative license suspension). Reductions in the alcohol-impaired driving problem require that attention be focused on all relevant target groups. Some benefits could accrue by recognizing that countermeasures developed for hardcore drinking drivers, such as alcohol ignition interlocks and vehicle or plate impoundment, might also be effective with more numerous first-time offenders. However, such strategies are likely to be most effective against recidivism (specific deterrence). Greater gains could be achieved through general deterrent efforts (increasing the real and perceived risk of arrest and punishment to all drinking drivers), along with application of public health measures designed to reduce overall consumption. Additional ways need to be found to separate drinking and driving, either through cultural changes in drinking and/or driving behavior, or in the future with the use of technology that can make vehicles inoperable by drivers with illegal blood alcohol concentrations. For a copy of Hard-Core Drinking Drivers and Other Contributors to the Alcohol-Impaired Driving Problem: Need for a More Comprehensive Approach, write: Publications, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, 1005 North Glebe Road, Arlington, VA 22201, or email: publications@iihs.org. The report is also featured in the IIHS Status Report, Vol. 41, No. 7, Sept 7, 2006.
January 21-25, 2007
86th Annual Meeting of the U.S. Transportation Research Board - Washington, D.C., USA
Alcohol and drug impaired driving technical sessions, meetings of the TRB Committee on Alcohol, Other Drugs and Transportation and the ICADTS Executive Board will be featured.
Visit www.trb.org/meeting for meeting information.
April 15-20, 2007
The Effects of Drugs on Human Performance and Behavior - Bloomington, IN, U.S.A.
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.
August 26-31, 2007
T'2007-18th International Conference on Alcohol, Drugs and Traffic Safety - Seattle, Washington, United States
Sponsored by ICADTS, The International Association of Forensic Toxicologists and the Ignition Interlock Symposium.
Visit www.ICADTS2007.org for information.