Drugged driving is a public safety threat on the scale of drunk driving, resulting in large numbers of crashes, injuries, and deaths. And yet, drugged driving laws, enforcement, and public education remain rudimentary and neglected.
Introduction Te single largest barrier to progress in
reduction of drugged driving is the expecta- tion that more research will produce the 0.08 g/dL blood alcohol concentration (BAC) equivalent for marijuana and other poten- tially impairing drugs. Te search for such an equivalent blood concentration is a problem that will not be solved by more research. Moreover, the expectation of finding such concentrations thwarts actions needed to reduce drugged driving now. Our national experience with drug testing
in the workplace, including the commercial airline and trucking industries, provides a precedent needed to overcome this barrier, as does the Western European experience with drugged driving. Te White House Office of National Drug Control Policy and the U.S. Department of Transportation have led the way in reducing drugged driving through effective per se drugged driving laws and enforcement. Te drug testing industry must play a major role in the development and widespread application of drug testing tech- nology for use on our nation’s highways and police stations to reduce drugged driving.
More Research Cannot Produce the 0.08 g/dL BAC Equivalent for Drugs First, it is an illusion to believe that a BAC of 0.08 g/dL defines a scientifically based threshold for driving impairment for all drivers. Alcohol can be impairing at concen- trations below 0.08 g/dL.1
Tat is why most
Western European countries use an alcohol limit of 0.05 g/dL and why Sweden and Norway use a limit of 0.02 g/dL. Moreover, alcohol-tolerant drivers may demonstrate rel- atively litle impairment at higher BACs. Tis fact may help explain why highway crashes and arrests for impairment are relatively infre- quent among drunk drivers, though it is also true that law enforcement officers are limited in that they cannot patrol every road. In (the United States?) 2010, 1.4 million arrests were made for driving under the influence2
, while
in the same year 112 million adults reported episodes of alcohol-impaired driving.3 Second, alcohol is an unacceptable model
for studying the impairing effects of other drugs. Alcohol has unique characteristics. It is soluble in both water and fat, so it is distributed evenly throughout the body including in the
www.datia.org
datia focus
37
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50