Marijuana, Other Drugs and Their Relation to Highway Safety

Marijuana, Other Drugs and Their Relation to Highway Safety
Author: United States. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Publisher:
Total Pages: 44
Release: 1980
Genre: Drugged driving
ISBN:

This report has been developed by the Department of Transportation in response to Section 212 of Title 11 of the Surface Transportation Act of 1978 (the Highway Safety Act of 1978). This section requires the Secretary of Transportation to report to Congress concerning efforts to detect and prevent marijuana and other drug use by motor vehicle operators. The full report is organized into five chapters: I. An introduction providing a brief history of the report, and a discussion of the similarities and differences between alcohol and drugs as they relate to highway safety; II. The frequency of drug use among drivers and its relation to highway safety; III. The legal approaches to the control of drug use by drivers; IV .Federal and State activity in the detection and prevention of inappropriate drug use by drivers; V. The Secretary's conclusions, recommendations and DOT programmatic actions.

Alcohol, Drugs, and Impaired Driving

Alcohol, Drugs, and Impaired Driving
Author: A. Wayne Jones
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 721
Release: 2020-06-15
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 100004856X

Alcohol, Drugs, and Impaired Driving addresses many theoretical and practical issues related to the role played by alcohol and other psychoactive drugs on driving performance, road-traffic safety, and public health. Several key forensic issues are involved in the enforcement of laws regulating driving under the influence of alcohol and/or other drugs, including analytical toxicology, pharmacology of drug action, as well as the relationships between dose taken, concentration levels in the body, and impairment of performance and behavior. Our knowledge of drunken driving is much more comprehensive than drugged driving, so a large part of this book is devoted to alcohol impairment, as well as impairment caused by use of drugs other than alcohol. For convenience, the book is divided into four main sections. The first section gives some historical background about measuring alcohol in blood and breath as evidence for the prosecution of traffic offenders. The important role of the Breathalyzer instrument in traffic-law enforcement, especially in Australia, Canada, and the USA is presented along with a biographical sketch of its inventor (Professor Robert F. Borkenstein of Indiana University) with focus on the man, his work and his impact. The second section discusses several issues related to forensic blood and breath-alcohol alcohol analysis as evidence for prosecution of traffic offenders. This includes how the results should be interpreted in relation to impairment and an evaluation of common defense challenges. Because most countries have adopted concentration per se laws, the main thrust of the prosecution case is the suspect’s measured blood- or breath-alcohol concentration. This legal framework necessitates that the analytical methods used are "fit for purpose" and are subjected to rigorous quality assurance procedures. The third section gives a broad overview of the current state of knowledge about driving under the influence of non-alcohol drugs in various countries. This includes adoption of zero-tolerance laws, concentration per se statutes, and clinical evidence of driver impairment based on field sobriety tests and drug recognition expert evidence. The fourth section deals with epidemiology, enforcement, and countermeasures aimed at reducing the threat of drunken and drugged driving. All articles have appeared previously in the international journal Forensic Science Review, but all are completely updated with current data, references, and the latest research on developments since the articles were published. This book contains a convenient collection of the best articles covering recommendations for blood and breath testing methods, public policy relating to such methods, and forensic and legal implications of the enforcement of measures to counter driving under the influence.