The purpose of this study was to determine the responsibility, or culpability, of drivers killed in road traffic accidents for the purpose of establishing if drug use by drivers contribute to accident causation in the Victorian population. Drivers killed in road traffic accidents occurring in Victoria during 1990 to 1993 were investigated. A total of 490 drivers were included in the final analysis. This represented 58% of all driver deaths which occurred during this period. The remaining drivers were excluded from the study due to missing or inappropriate information such as death occurring several hours after the accident leading to the possibility of inaccurate toxicology data and insufficient information to allow a proper assessment of responsibility. (A)
Abstract