This paper reports a retrospective study of the necropsy records of 1187 fatal road traffic accidents, observed during 1982-91 at the Forensic Medicine Institute of Brescia, Italy, in relation to psychoactive drugs. Cases were excluded where: (1) there was medical treatment; (2) the cause of death had been certified only from internal inspection; (3) the victim was a passenger; (4) toxicological analysis was technically impossible. The selected group included 139 cases where blood alcohol concentration (BAC) was measured during the autopsy. Seven of these cases were positive for other drugs: morphine, cocaine, methadone, and benzodiazepines. Possible correlations were sought between the presence of alcohol and drug abuse, accident times, and age and sex of victims. They were also sought between accident modalities and the results of toxicological analyses. The results are displayed in six tables and three charts. 114 of the cases examined were males. 76 of the cases died at ages 21 to 50. The proportions of cases with BACs greater than 0.8g/l, 0.5g/l and 0.1g/l were 35%, 38% and 46%, respectively. Correlations with accidents were observed for BACs above 0.5g/l. In six of the seven drug cases, driving ability had been impaired by drug intoxication.
Abstract