This study examined the incidence of alcohol and drugs in a sample of seriously injured motor vehicle collision victims, and differences related to pre-crash use of alcohol and/or other drugs on demographic variables, injury severity measures, and crash variables. Thesample selected were all motor vehicle collision admissions to the Regional Trauma Unit at the Sunnybrook Health Science Centre in Toronto, Ontario, over a 37-month period. Prospective demographic and injury-related information were collected from hospital charts, and crash data were collected from motor vehicle collision police reports.Blood samples were routinely collected on admission and tested for blood alcohol concentration (BAC). These results showed that 32.0% of the BAC-tested motor vehicle collision admissions and 35.5% of drivers tested positive for blood alcohol. The drivers' mean BAC on admission was found to be 145.2 mg/100 ml, and the mean estimated BAC at crash time was 181 mg/100 ml. Drug screens were performed on a two-year subsample, of whom 339 were drivers. Drug-screens revealed that 41.3% of drivers tested positive for other drugs in body fluids, and 16.5% were positive for alcohol in combination with other drugs.Other than alcohol, the drugs most frequently detected in the drivers were cannabinoids (13.9%), benzodiazepines (12.4%), and cocaine (5.3%). Investigation of differences on demographic, injury, and crash characteristics related to precrash use of alcohol and/or drugs yielded significant findings. These are presented and discussed
Abstract