OBJECTIVE:The purpose was to determine the impact of new immediate roadside prohibitions (IRPs) for drinking drivers introduced in British Columbia in September 2010 as assessed by random roadside surveys of alcohol and drug use among nighttime drivers.METHODS:Two roadside surveys were conducted prior to and following the introduction of IRPs. Drivers were randomly selected from the traffic stream in 5 cities and asked to provide a breath sample to determine alcohol content and a sample of oral fluid to be tested for the presence of psychoactive drugs. The survey was conducted between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 3:00 a.m. on Wednesday through Saturday nights in June 2010 and again in June 2012.RESULTS:Driving after drinking decreased significantly following the introduction of IRPs. In particular, the percentage of drivers with blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) over 80 mg/dL decreased by 59 percent; drivers with BACs of at least 50 mg/dL decreased by 44 percent. The decreases in drinking and driving were not restricted to specific subgroups of drivers but were universal across age groups, sex, and communities. The results also revealed a changing pattern of drinking of driving. For example, the typical pattern of increased drinking and driving on weekend nights was not observed and the prevalence of drinking drivers on the road during late night hours was less than half that found in 2010. The prevalence of drug use by drivers in 2012 did not change from the levels reported in 2010.CONCLUSIONS:The IRP program combined immediate short-term roadside suspensions with vehicle impoundment and monetary penalties to enhance the swiftness, certainty, and perceived severity of sanctions for drinking and driving. The introduction of these measures was associated with a substantial reduction in the prevalence of driving with a BAC over 50 mg/dL and driving with a BAC over 80 mg/dL.

The present project was designed to help understand the involvement of drugs in motor vehicle driver fatalities. A total of 500 coroner files from three Canadian provinces were matched with crash records and reviewed in an attempt to identify the extent to which the use of drugs (and/or alcohol) may have contributed to the crash. Attribution of the role of alcohol and/or drugs was based on evidence such as police reports of contributing factors, coronersr statements, witness statements of erratic driving or impairment, the presence of adverse environmental or vehicular factors, and evidence of alternative explanations for the crash. Whereas the typical alcohol-related driver fatality involved a single vehicle with a male driver aged 45 to 54 leaving the road late at night on a weekend, the crashes of drug-positive drivers were more likely to involve female drivers, all age groups, and occur during daylight hours, on weekdays, and involve more than one vehicle. In 49 per cent of cases where drugs were present, the drugs were deemed to have played a moderate or strong role in the crash. Among the cases where only alcohol was present, alcohol was deemed to be a moderate or strong factor in 96 per cent of them. In cases where both drugs and alcohol were present, the combination of substances was deemed to be a contributing factor in 97.2 per cent of crashes. The findings confirmed the prominent, strong influence of alcohol in fatal crashes and provided new evidence of the contributory role of drugs. The results of this study provide valuable information that has implications for prevention and enforcement.

Research has documented the prevalence of drug use among drivers involved in serious crashes. Although the overrepresentation of alcohol among drivers involved in serious crashes has been repeatedly demonstrated in numerous studies, relatively few studies have attempted to determine the magnitude of the risks posed by drivers who have used drugs. The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which drugs may present a risk to road safety by comparing the prevalence of drug use among drivers at risk and drivers who die in motor vehicle crashes. Data on alcohol and drug use from coronersr and medical examinersr files on drivers of motor vehicles who died in crashes were compared with data on drug use among drivers who participated in roadside surveys in British Columbia, Canada conducted between 2008 and 2012 as a means to help establish the contributory role of drugs in driver fatalities. The results show increased probability of fatal crash associated with the use of alcohol or drugs and greatly increased risks associated with the use of alcohol and drugs in combination. Alcohol remains a primary substance of concern for road safety. Cannabis also presents increased risks for drivers as does the combined use of cannabis and alcohol. These findings will contribute to program and policy initiatives to improve road safety.

Roadside surveys of alcohol use among drivers have been used for many years to measure the prevalence of alcohol use among drivers. A standard protocol for these surveys is required to compare results across jurisdictions and/or over time. The objective of this project was to describe a standard protocol for conducting a roadside survey to determine the prevalence of alcohol and drug use among nighttime drivers. In addition, the document addresses many of the issues and questions that arise when a roadside survey is being considered and provides an overview of many of the steps required to help ensure a successful project. A roadside survey is a major effort that requires considerable forethought, planning, negotiations with key stakeholders and partners, and the development of a detailed protocol for the survey. It is an intensive effort that requires a tremendous amount of preparation. The key to a successful project is careful planning and a standard protocol will provide guidance in this process. This protocol has been developed over time and modified to add drug collection and examine the use of daytime sites. These procedures have been tested and improved in multiple surveys conducted in Canada over past decades. The result is a protocol that addresses key issues and concerns and provides valid measurements of general alcohol and drug use on a jurisdictionrs roads which can be monitored overtime or used as a before and after measurement system.

This paper presents evidence of the impact of new immediate roadside prohibitions (IRP) for drinking drivers as assessed by random roadside surveys of alcohol and drug use among nighttime drivers conducted prior to and following the introduction of IRP. Drivers were randomly selected from the traffic stream in five cities and asked to provide a breath sample to determine alcohol content and a sample of oral fluid to be tested for the presence of psychoactive drugs. The surveys were conducted between the hours of 21:00 and 03:00 on Wednesday through Saturday nights in June 2010 and again in June 2012. Driving after drinking decreased significantly following the introduction of IRP. In particular, the percentage of drivers with BACs over 80 mg/dL decreased by 59 per cent; drivers with BACs of at least 50 mg/dL decreased by 44 per cent. The decreases in drinking and driving were not restricted to specific sub-groups of drivers but were universal across age groups, sex, and communities. The results also revealed a changing pattern of drinking and driving. For example, the typical pattern of increased drinking and driving on weekend nights was not observed in 2012 and the prevalence of drinking drivers on the road during late night hours was less than half that found in 2010. The IRP program combined immediate short-term roadside suspensions with vehicle impoundment and monetary penalties to enhance the swiftness, certainty and perceived severity of sanctions for drinking and driving. These measures were associated with a substantial reduction in the prevalence of driving with a BAC over 50 mg/dL and driving with a BAC over 80 mg/dL.

Roadside surveys have been conducted periodically in British Columbia, Canada since 1995 as a surveillance tool to gather reliable and valid estimates of the prevalence of alcohol use by nighttime drivers. With concerns about the consequences of driving while under the influence of drugs coming to the forefront of public attention, the roadside survey conducted in 2008 was the first to introduce drugs into the testing protocol. Two subsequent surveys have also included drug testing. Using the combined data from three roadside surveys (conducted in 2008, 2010 and 2012), we examined the characteristics of drivers who tested positive for drugs and the circumstances under which the behaviour occurred. The method for all three roadside surveys followed a standard protocol. There were a total of 4711 drivers that voluntarily participated and provided both an oral fluid sample and a breath sample. It was found that 3928 (83.4 per cent) were negative for both drugs and alcohol, 382 (8.1 per cent) were positive for drugs only, 320 (6.8 per cent) were positive for alcohol only and 81 (1.7 per cent) were positive for both drugs and alcohol. Results indicate that the characteristics of drug-drivers and the patterns of drug use by drivers differed from the well-known patterns of drinking and driving. The most common drug detected was cannabis followed by cocaine. This information makes a vital contribution to the development of effective enforcement, public education and awareness programs.

OBJECTIVE:The purpose was to determine the prevalence of alcohol and drug use among a random sample of nighttime drivers.METHODS:Drivers were randomly selected from the traffic stream in three cities in British Columbia and asked to provide a breath sample to determine alcohol content and a sample of oral fluid to be tested for the presence of psychoactive drugs. The survey was conducted between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 03:00 a.m. on Wednesday through Saturday nights in June 2008.RESULTS:Of the 1533 vehicles selected, 89 percent of drivers provided a breath sample and 78 percent provided a sample of oral fluid. Key findings include: 10.4 percent of drivers tested positive for drug use. 8.1 percent of drivers had been drinking. 15.5 percent of drivers tested positive for alcohol, drugs, or both. Cannabis and cocaine were the drugs most frequently detected in drivers. Alcohol use among drivers was most common on weekends and during late-night hours; drug use was more evenly distributed across all survey nights and times. Alcohol use was most common among drivers aged 19 to 24 and 25 to 34; drug use was more evenly distributed across all age groups. Though driving after drinking has decreased substantially since previous surveys, the number of drivers with elevated alcohol levels (over 80 mg/dL) was higher than in the past.CONCLUSIONS:The finding that drug use is more common than alcohol use among drivers highlights the need for a unique and separate societal response to the use of drugs by drivers commensurate with the extent of safety risks posed to road users. The observed differences between driving after drug use and driving after drinking have implications for enforcement and prevention.

This investigation used meta-analytic techniques to evaluate the effectiveness of school-based prevention programming in reducing cannabis use among youth aged 12 to 19. It summarized the results from 15 studies published in peer-reviewed journals since 1999 and identified features that influenced program effectiveness. The results from the set of 15 studies indicated that these school-based programs had a positive impact on reducing students’ cannabis use ( d = 0.58, CI: 0.55, 0.62) compared to control conditions. Findings revealed that programs incorporating elements of several prevention models were significantly more effective than were those based on only a social influence model. Programs that were longer in duration (≥15 sessions) and facilitated by individuals other than teachers in an interactive manner also yielded stronger effects. The results also suggested that programs targeting high school students were more effective than were those aimed at middle-school students. Implications for school-based prevention programming are discussed.

OBJECTIVE:The purpose of this study is to statistically identify the set of drug-related cues from Drug Evaluation and Classification (DEC) evaluations that significantly predict the substance used by suspected drug-impaired drivers.METHODS:Data from 742 completed Canadian DEC evaluations of central nervous system (CNS) stimulant, narcotic analgesic, and cannabis cases were analyzed using a multinomial logistic regression procedure.RESULTS:Nine clinical indicators from the DEC evaluations significantly enhanced the prediction of drug category, including pulse rate, condition of the eyes and eyelids, lack of convergence, hippus, reaction to light, rebound dilation, systolic blood pressure, and the presence of injection sites.CONCLUSIONS:The findings from this study will facilitate the process of identifying the correct category of drug ingested by focusing on critical signs and symptoms of drug influence. This work will have direct and immediate relevance to the training of drug recognition experts (DREs) by providing the foundation for an innovative, statistically based approach to drug classification decisions by DREs.

ABSTRACT The objective of this paper is to illustrate the accuracy with which police officers trained as Drug Recognition Experts (DREs) can identify the category of drug(s) ingested by persons suspected of being impaired as the result of drug use. The study examined 1,349 drug evaluations completed by DREs in Canada to determine the extent to which DRE opinions about the category of drug(s) used matched the results of toxicological analysis of fluid samples. The paper presents measures of sensitivity, specificity, the false alarm rate, and miss rate for all drug categories combined as well as for the most commonly found substances. The data demonstrate that the drug evaluations conducted by DREs in Canada are accurate.