Consumption of alcohol and tranquilizers reaches a very high level in France. Studies about stimultaneous alcohol and psychotropic drugs involvement in motor related fatalities have never been described in this country. A retrospective study was done on 482 fatalities broken down by drivers and pedestrians within one year (1987) in Region Nord-Pas de Calais (France). 132 case met the criteria for complete study. Blood samples obtained at the time of death were analysed for alcohol (BAC) by gas-chromatography and assayed for batrbiturates (BA), benzodiazepines (BZ) and tricyclic antidepressants (TA) by Emit. Out of 132 fatalities there were 86 per cent men (mean age 38.5 years) and 14 per cent women (mean age 46 years). 57 per cent belonged to the working population. Of the fatalities, 38 per cent occurred from Friday 8 p.m. to Sunday 12 p.m. 53 per cent were above the legal alcohol limit (0.8 g/l) and 34.8 per cent had no alcohol. Psychotropic drugs were detected in 10.6 per cent of the cases, BZ were found in 50 per cent men and 100 per cent of women. Drugs and alcohol were present simultaneously in 8.3 per cent of the individuals. (A)
Abstract