Drugs, driving and traffic safety / edited by Robert E. Willette and J. Michael Walsh

ABSTRACT

Considers the problems associated with evaluating the effects of drugs on driving and traffic safety and suggests standardized approaches to further work in this field. Chapters evaluate problems of analytical toxicology and epidemiological research and discuss behavioural tests that have been developed to indicate impaired driving performance. Recommendations for systematic test procedures are put forward. The book also features brief sections on the role of public health authorities and the importance of international collaboration. Annexed to the report is an outline of analytical methods for detecting and identifying drugs in blood, urine, and saliva samples, giving sensitivity limits for certain classes of drugs. As an example of a notable effort to reduce accidents through public education, the concluding section records the Nordic Councils recommendations for labelling seven main classes of drugs and reproduces the text of a leaflet that is given to patients when these drugs are prescribed