This paper concerns a Council of Europe project which investigated the effect of use of drugs on driving behaviour. Aspects considered included legislation; law enforcement and detection; prevalence, epidemiology and risk assessment; and prevention and rehabilitation. This author comments on the contrasting approaches across Europe and the USA to tackle the problem: penalising drivers with any trace of illicit drugs in their system, or preventing only drivers whose behaviour is impaired from being on the road. Different legal and ethical traditions present barriers to full harmonisation, although the author does not see this as necessary. The simplified difference between legal and illicit drugs is criticised as the relevance to traffic safety lies in the use or abuse of a substance, including medicinal drugs. For the covering abstract see ITRD E113725 (C 22328 CD-ROM).
Samenvatting