The purpose of this investigation was to find the average mortality among drugged drivers over a period of 42 months subsequent to apprehension. The National Institute of Forensic Toxicology in Oslo receives blood samples from all suspected drugged drivers in Norway. Drivers between 20 and 39 years old providing samples positive for drugs other than alcohol in 1992 (n= 930) were selected for this study. The mortality for the whole group was studied. 64 persons of the selected drugged drivers died during the follow-up period, 6 female and 58 male. The relative risk of death for the female drugged drivers was 31 times higher than for the population in general, while it was about 21 times higher for male drugged drivers. The most prevalent causes of death were fatal poisoning/overdoses, accidents and suicides. The results support the assumption that a large proportion of apprehended drugged drivers are drug abusers, and raise the question for alternative strategies for treatment of these driver groups.
Abstract