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Prevalence of alcohol and drug use in injured British Columbia drivers Brubacher, Jeffrey; Chan, Herbert; Martz, Walter; Schreiber, William Edward, 1954-; Asbridge, Mark; Eppler, Jeffrey; Lund, Adam; Macdonald, Scott; Drummer, Olaf; Purssell, Roy; Andolfatto, Gary; Mann, Robert E.; Brant, Rollin
Abstract
Objectives: Determine the prevalence of drug use in injured drivers and identify associated demographic factors and crash characteristics. Design: Prospective cross-sectional study. Setting: Seven trauma centres in British Columbia, Canada (2010–2012). Participants: Automobile drivers who had blood obtained within 6 h of a crash. Main outcome measures: We analysed blood for cannabis, alcohol and other impairing drugs using liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LCMS). Results: 1097 drivers met inclusion criteria. 60% were aged 20–50 years, 63.2% were male and 29.0% were admitted to hospital. We found alcohol in 17.8% (15.6% to 20.1%) of drivers. Cannabis was the second most common recreational drug: cannabis metabolites were present in 12.6% (10.7% to 14.7%) of drivers and we detected Δ-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ-9-THC) in 7.3% (5.9% to 9.0%), indicating recent use. Males and drivers aged under 30 years were most likely to use cannabis. We detected cocaine in 2.8% (2.0% to 4.0%) of drivers and amphetamines in 1.2% (0.7% to 2.0%). We also found medications including benzodiazepines (4.0% (2.9% to 5.3%)), antidepressants (6.5% (5.2% to 8.1%)) and diphenhydramine (4.7% (3.5% to 6.2%)). Drivers aged over 50 years and those requiring hospital admission were most likely to have used medications. Overall, 40.1% (37.2% to 43.0%) of drivers tested positive for alcohol or at least one impairing drug and 12.7% (10.7% to 14.7%) tested positive for more than one substance. Conclusions: Alcohol, cannabis and a broad range of other impairing drugs are commonly detected in injured drivers. Alcohol is well known to cause crashes, but further research is needed to determine the impact of other drug use, including drug–alcohol and drug–drug combinations, on crash risk. In particular, more work is needed to understand the role of medications in causing crashes to guide driver education programmes and improve public safety.
Item Metadata
| Title |
Prevalence of alcohol and drug use in injured British Columbia drivers
|
| Creator | |
| Contributor | |
| Publisher |
BMJ Open
|
| Date Issued |
2016-03-10
|
| Description |
Objectives: Determine the prevalence of drug use in
injured drivers and identify associated demographic
factors and crash characteristics.
Design: Prospective cross-sectional study.
Setting: Seven trauma centres in British Columbia,
Canada (2010–2012).
Participants: Automobile drivers who had blood
obtained within 6 h of a crash.
Main outcome measures: We analysed blood for
cannabis, alcohol and other impairing drugs using
liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LCMS).
Results: 1097 drivers met inclusion criteria. 60%
were aged 20–50 years, 63.2% were male and 29.0%
were admitted to hospital. We found alcohol in 17.8%
(15.6% to 20.1%) of drivers. Cannabis was the second
most common recreational drug: cannabis metabolites
were present in 12.6% (10.7% to 14.7%) of drivers
and we detected Δ-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ-9-THC)
in 7.3% (5.9% to 9.0%), indicating recent use. Males
and drivers aged under 30 years were most likely to
use cannabis. We detected cocaine in 2.8% (2.0% to
4.0%) of drivers and amphetamines in 1.2% (0.7% to
2.0%). We also found medications including
benzodiazepines (4.0% (2.9% to 5.3%)),
antidepressants (6.5% (5.2% to 8.1%)) and
diphenhydramine (4.7% (3.5% to 6.2%)). Drivers aged
over 50 years and those requiring hospital admission
were most likely to have used medications. Overall,
40.1% (37.2% to 43.0%) of drivers tested positive for
alcohol or at least one impairing drug and 12.7%
(10.7% to 14.7%) tested positive for more than one
substance.
Conclusions: Alcohol, cannabis and a broad range of
other impairing drugs are commonly detected in
injured drivers. Alcohol is well known to cause
crashes, but further research is needed to determine
the impact of other drug use, including drug–alcohol
and drug–drug combinations, on crash risk. In
particular, more work is needed to understand the role
of medications in causing crashes to guide driver
education programmes and improve public safety.
|
| Genre | |
| Type | |
| Language |
eng
|
| Date Available |
2022-07-06
|
| Provider |
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
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| Rights |
Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International
|
| DOI |
10.14288/1.0416094
|
| URI | |
| Affiliation | |
| Citation |
Brubacher JR, Chan H, Martz W, et al. Prevalence of alcohol and drug use in injured British Columbia drivers. BMJ Open 2016;6:e009278.
|
| Publisher DOI |
10.1136/bmjopen-2015- 009278
|
| Peer Review Status |
Reviewed
|
| Scholarly Level |
Faculty; Researcher
|
| Rights URI | |
| Aggregated Source Repository |
DSpace
|
Item Media
Item Citations and Data
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International