This paper considers what types of deterioration of vigilance and decision making could be important for different types of subjects, taking different drugs or suffering from different illnesses. Road accidents can be caused by: (1) decrease of arousal; (2) decrease of alertness and lack of attention; (3) removal of inhibitions and underestimation of risks; (4) combinations of (1) to (3), caused by important intakes of alcohol and/or other psychotropic drugs, or by important psychiatric behaviour disorders. Tests, generally used in evaluating the effects of psychotropic drugs, can be classified into: (1) `intellectual' tests; (2) psychometric tests in the laboratory; and (3) tests in simulated or actual driving situations. The author conducted three studies, to compare the results obtained with the same methodology for different populations, including those for sedation tests and risk-taking tests. The populations were: (1) subjects receiving alcohol or placebo; (2) taxi drivers with two different types of involvement in the test situation; (3) depressant patients, compared with healthy volunteers. The test battery consisted of: (1) a tremometric test to measure emotional control; (2) a computerised crossing-out test (Zazzo's test); (3) a driving test on a closed circuit. The results of these tests for the three studies are discussed.
Abstract