As a part of who global strategy for health for all by the year of 2000 experts in the field of drugs, driving and traffic safety discussed the problems of epidemiology including analytical toxicology and problems in conducting epidemiological research. The effects of drugs on driving performance were discussed with assessment of skills performance and complex behaviour and recommendations for systematic test procedure. The importance of public health authorities and international collaboration in the field was stressed. Recommendations for research and actions on regional, national and international level are summarized as follows: (1) develop and utilize uniform nomenclature and statistical systems with regard to accidents; (2) promote and implement epidemiological studies at the national, regional and international levels to collect information on the role of drugs in traffic accidents; (3) develop preventive policies and programmes; (4) promote the exchange of information between scientists and experts in the field; (5) improve the existing facilities for training in different disciplines with regard to drug use (including dependence), highway safety, and statistical analysis; (6) provide techniques and laboratory apparatus for the detection of drugs in body fluids, especially in the developing countries; (7) improve the methods employed to educate the public about the dangers of drugs and their relation to traffic accidents, making use of audiovisual aids, films, tapes, lectures, posters, etc; (8) develop better information on new drugs before they are marketed and through postmarketing surveillance. This should include information on behavioural toxicity, and in particular on cognitive, neuromuscular, perceptual, and attention functions; (9) clarify new and existing legislation to emphasize the point that driving under the influence of drugs is concerned mainly with the adverse influences of that drug on driving performance, and not solely with the taking of a drug; (10) implement more widely the nordic countries' warning system, whereby drug packages are suitably labelled when they contain drugs that interfere with driving skills, and educational material is provided regarding the potential hazards; (11) provide more resources for studies on the adverse effects of psychoactive drugs and for programmes to educate the public and members of the health professions on the safe use of these drugs. (Secondary source).
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