[Drunkenness in traffic in Geneva: distribution and detection]. / Les ivresses dans le trafic à Genève: distribution et détection.

All cases of inebriety (up to the Swiss Legal BAC: 0.8 gr/kg) in traffic (pedestrians and drivers) recorded by the police during one year are the object of the study. Their frequency and blood alcohol levels are related to individual variables (sex, age, nationality) and also to environmental variables (vehicle, month, day, time). Clinical appreciation of intoxication levels by physicians taking blood samples is also verified. Inherent difficulties of methodological bias coupled to the use of official data, are examined by systematically taking into account the way in which intoxication was detected (with or without accident). In all, 951 cases of alcohol intoxication were studied.

[Drunkenness in traffic in Geneva: occasional abuse or alcoholism?]. / Les ivresses dans le trafic à Genève: abus occasionnels ou alcoolisme.

The main aim of the study is to measure the importance of alcoholism amongst alcohol intoxication (up to the Swiss legal BAC: 0.8 gr/kg) in traffic. The method used describes the characteristics of all cases of inebriety (amongst pedestrians and drivers) recorded by the police during one year and relates this with complementary data such as the determination of a biological marker of alcohol consumption (Gamma Glutamyl Transferase), or DWI recidivism. Results of general interest are: 22% of recorded cases of alcohol intoxication are recidivists; about one third of the cases of alcohol intoxication registered are due to alcoholism rather than to social drinking. A preventive policy in road traffic safety must integrate the problems, caused by alcoholism, on Public Health.

[Responsibility in the prevention of accidents of the most exposed pedestrians: children and elderly persons]. / Notion de responsabilité dans la prévention des accidents chez les piétons les plus exposés: enfants et personnes âgées.

A study has been carried out on the Swiss road accidents statistics involving pedestrians. The most exposed road users (young and aged pedestrians) are the ones best protected by traffic law. However, data suggest that these pedestrians are more frequently declared responsible for the accidents in which they are involved. Arising from this contradiction, both the notion of responsibility and the way the prevention of these accidents is conceived should be queried.

[Effect of tetrabamate, phenobarbital and a small quantity of alcohol on certain perceptive-motor aspects in connection with automobile driving]. / Effet du tétrabamate, du phénobarbital et d'une faible quantité d'alcool sur quelques aspects perceptivo-moteurs en relation avec la conduite automobile.

Studies have been conducted of the respective effects a dose of 300 mg tetrabamate administered daily for one week, of 45 mg phenobarbital also given daily for one week (tetrabamate contains 15% phenobarbital) and of a small amount of alcohol alone or associated with one or the other of these drugs. Several perceptual-motor components involved in the driving function have been measured by testing signal detection of threshold contrast under mesopic vision following glare and without glare, critical fusion frequency, perceptual-motor reaction pattern for simple reaction time or choice reaction time during which the different signals do not appear with the same probability, and perceptual style by means of the rod-and-frame test.