ArticleBMJ open2016
Prevalence of alcohol and drug use in injured British Columbia drivers.
Article in BMJ open, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The trial behind it
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Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 58 citations in OpenAlex.
- Prevalence of alcohol-impaired driving: a systematic review with a gender-driven approach and meta-analysis of gender differences.International journal of legal medicine · 2024Pooled it
- Occupational Injuries and Use of Benzodiazepines: A Systematic Review and Metanalysis.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2021Pooled it
- Combined effect of alcohol and cannabis on simulated driving.Psychopharmacology · 2022Trial
- Prevalence of Impairing Substance Use in Injured Drivers.JAMA network open · 2025Article
- Article
- Observational
- Drug driving: a secondary analysis of factors associated with driving under the influence of cannabis in Jamaica.BMJ open · 2024Article
- Worldwide Prevalence of Alcohol Use in Non-Fatally Injured Motor Vehicle Drivers: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Psychoactive Substance Use and Its Associated Factors among Truck Drivers in Ethiopia.BioMed research international · 2021Article
- Epidemiology of drug driving: protocol from a national Canadian study measuring levels of cannabis, alcohol and other substances in injured drivers.BMC public health · 2020Article
- Marijuana and alcohol use among injured drivers evaluated at level I trauma centers in Arizona, 2008-2014.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2019Article
- Positive drug test trends in fatally-injured drivers in the United States from 2007 to 2017.Substance abuse treatment, prevention, and policy · 2019Article
- Identifying trajectories of alcohol use in a sample of secondary school students in Ontario and Alberta: longitudinal evidence from the COMPASS study.Health promotion and chronic disease prevention in Canada : research, policy and practice · 2019Article
- Incidence of fatalities of road traffic accidents associated with alcohol consumption and the use of psychoactive drugs: A 7-year survey (2011-2017).Experimental and therapeutic medicine · 2019Article
- Cannabis use as a risk factor for causing motor vehicle crashes: a prospective study.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2019Article
- Alcohol and marijuana use among young injured drivers in Arizona, 2008-2014.Traffic injury prevention · 2019Article
- Risk of injury from alcohol, marijuana and other drug use among emergency department patients.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2017Article
- Frequent marijuana use and driving risk behaviours in Canadian youth.Paediatrics & child health · 2017Article
- Description of Various Factors Contributing to Traffic Accidents in Youth and Measures Proposed to Alleviate Recurrence.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2017Review
- Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
13 authors at 6 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesDetermine the prevalence of drug use in injured drivers and identify associated demographic factors and crash characteristics.
designProspective cross-sectional study.
settingSeven trauma centres in British Columbia, Canada (2010-2012).
participantsAutomobile drivers who had blood obtained within 6 h of a crash.
main outcome measuresWe analysed blood for cannabis, alcohol and other impairing drugs using liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LCMS).
results1097 drivers met inclusion criteria. 60% were aged 20-50 years, 63.2% were male and 29.0% were admitted to hospital. We found alcohol in 17.8% (15.6% to 20.1%) of drivers. Cannabis was the second most common recreational drug: cannabis metabolites were present in 12.6% (10.7% to 14.7%) of drivers and we detected Δ-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ-9-THC) in 7.3% (5.9% to 9.0%), indicating recent use. Males and drivers aged under 30 years were most likely to use cannabis. We detected cocaine in 2.8% (2.0% to 4.0%) of drivers and amphetamines in 1.2% (0.7% to 2.0%). We also found medications including benzodiazepines (4.0% (2.9% to 5.3%)), antidepressants (6.5% (5.2% to 8.1%)) and diphenhydramine (4.7% (3.5% to 6.2%)). Drivers aged over 50 years and those requiring hospital admission were most likely to have used medications. Overall, 40.1% (37.2% to 43.0%) of drivers tested positive for alcohol or at least one impairing drug and 12.7% (10.7% to 14.7%) tested positive for more than one substance.
conclusionsAlcohol, cannabis and a broad range of other impairing drugs are commonly detected in injured drivers. Alcohol is well known to cause crashes, but further research is needed to determine the impact of other drug use, including drug-alcohol and drug-drug combinations, on crash risk. In particular, more work is needed to understand the role of medications in causing crashes to guide driver education programmes and improve public safety.
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Registered trials
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