Tara Kelley-Baker

THE PREVALENCE OF CANNABIS-INVOLVED DRIVING IN CALIFORNIA

BACKGROUND Various national surveys suggest that cannabis use is rising nationally and many States have passed legislation that has potential to increase usage even further. This presents a problem for public roadways, as research suggests that cannabis impairs driving ability. METHODS Anonymous oral fluid samples and breath tests were obtained from more than 900 weekend nighttime drivers randomly sampled from six jurisdictions in California. Oral fluid samples were assayed for the presence of Schedule I drugs. Drivers also completed information on self-reported drug use and possession of a medical cannabis permit. Data from the 2007 National Roadside Survey (collected using comparable methods) were used as a comparison. RESULTS Using the 2010 data, a total of 14.4% of weekend nighttime drivers tested positive for illegal drugs, with 8.5% testing positive for delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). THC-positive rates varied considerably among jurisdictions, from a low of 4.3% in Fresno to a high of 18.3% in Eureka. A comparison with the 2007 NRS data found an increase in THC-positive drivers in 2010, but no increase in illegal drugs other than cannabis. Drivers who reported having a medical cannabis permit were significantly more likely to test positive for THC. CONCLUSIONS Cannabis-involved driving has increased in California since 2007. Nearly 1-in-10 weekend, nighttime drivers tested positive for THC, and in some jurisdictions, the rate was nearly 1-in-5. The possible contribution of cannabis legislation, such as decriminalization and medical cannabis usage, is discussed.

Alcohol- and drug-involved driving in the United States: methodology for the 2007 National Roadside Survey.

This article describes the methodology used in the 2007 U.S. National Roadside Survey to estimate the prevalence of alcohol- and drug-impaired driving and alcohol- and drug-involved driving. This study involved randomly stopping drivers at 300 locations across the 48 continental U.S. states at sites selected through a stratified random sampling procedure. Data were collected during a 2-hr Friday daytime session at 60 locations and during 2-hr nighttime weekend periods at 240 locations. Both self-report and biological measures were taken. Biological measures included breath alcohol measurements from 9,413 respondents, oral fluid samples from 7,719 respondents, and blood samples from 3,276 respondents.

Protecting You/Protecting Me: Effects of an Alcohol Prevention and Vehicle Safety Program on Elementary Students

This paper describes an evaluation of Protecting You/Protecting Me (PY/PM), a classroom-based, alcohol-use prevention and vehicle safety program for elementary students in first through fifth grades developed by Mothers Against Drunk Driving. PY/PM lessons and activities focus on teaching children about (I) their brains (why their brain is important, how their brain continues to develop throughout childhood and adolescence, what alcohol does to the developing brain, and why it is important to protect their brain); (2) vehicle safety (what to do to protect themselves should they ever ride with an impaired driver); and (3) life skills (decision making, stress management, and media literacy). Fourth- and fifth-grade students from schools in the fourth year of PY/PM implementation were surveyed. Results indicated that, relative to comparison students from matched schools, PY/PM students increased their knowledge of alcohols effect on development; gained decision-making, stress-management, and vehicle safety skills; and demonstrated changes in attitudes toward underage alcohol use and its harm. Further, students retained lessons learned in previous years and their scores improved with increased exposure to PY/PM. In addition, the findings demonstrate that it is possible to design and implement a program that can improve young childrens knowledge regarding alcohol and their developing brains, teach them skills to protect themselves in dangerous situations, increase already high antialcohol attitudes, and change perceptions of alcohols harmfulness.

Low-Manpower Checkpoints: Can They Provide Effective DUI Enforcement in Small Communities?

Objective. Sobriety checkpoints can be effective in reducing alcohol-impaired driving. Checkpoints are underutilized, however, partially because police believe a large number of officers are required. This study evaluated the feasibility and impact of conducting small-scale checkpoints in rural communities. Methods. Law enforcement agencies in two counties agreed to conduct weekly checkpoints for one year. Two nonadjacent counties did not undertake additional checkpoints. Evaluation included public-awareness surveys and roadside surveys (including blood alcohol concentration [BAC] measurements) of weekend nighttime drivers. Results. Relative to drivers in the comparison counties, the proportion of drivers in the experimental counties with BACs >0.05% was 70% lower. Drivers surveyed at drivers license offices in the experimental counties after program implementation were more likely to report seeing or passing through a checkpoint and were more aware of publicity on driving under the influence (DUI) enforcement. Conclusions. Small rural communities can safely and effectively conduct low-staff sobriety checkpoints on a weekly basis. Such programs can be expected to result in large reductions in drivers operating at higher BACs.

Drinking and driving in the United States: comparing results from the 2007 and 1996 National Roadside Surveys.

Objectives: The objectives of this study were to (a) use data from the 2007 National Roadside Survey (NRS) to determine the characteristics of weekend nighttime drivers with positive blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) on U.S. roads in 2007; (b) determine the relationship of the driving environment and trip characteristics associated with drinking drivers; and (c) compare the findings for the 2007 NRS with those for the 1996 NRS. Methods: Like the 1996 NRS, the 2007 NRS used a stratified random national roadside survey sample of the contiguous 48 states and collected nighttime data on Fridays and Saturdays between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m. Officers directed 8384 drivers into off-road parking areas where our research team asked them to participate in the survey. Results: Of those approached, 7159 (85.4%) provided a breath test. Results revealed that 12 percent of the nighttime drivers had positive BACs, and of those, 2 percent were higher than the 0.08 BAC illegal limit in the United States. Since the 1996 NRS, we found significant reductions in the percentage of BAC-positive drivers across different demographic groups. Age was among the most significant factors associated with a weekend driver having a positive BAC. The probability that a driver would be drinking peaked in the 21- to 25-year-old age group. Male drivers were more likely than female drivers to be drinking, and Asian and Hispanic drivers were less likely than white drivers to be drinking. Drinking drivers were more likely to be driving short distances (5 or fewer miles) late at night (between 1 and 3 a.m.) and to be coming from a bar or restaurant. Finally, 26 percent of the drivers who reported that they would drive less than 5 miles on the night of the survey had positive BACs, compared to only 16 percent who indicated that they would drive between 6 and 20 miles and 10 percent who planned to drive more than 20 miles. Conclusions: The 2007 NRS provides another benchmark in the 4-decade record of drinking drivers on American roads and provides a basis for measuring progress in combating driving under the influence during the coming decade.

Female involvement in U.S. nonfatal crashes under a three-level hierarchical crash model

Men have long held the lead in motor-vehicle crashes; however, research indicates that women are closing the gap. To further investigate this problem, we applied a hierarchical model to investigate female involvement in fatal crashes in the United States. The hierarchical model recognizes that decisions at higher levels affect the decisions at lower levels. At the top level, the model assumes that the drivers condition (e.g., inattention, fatigue, impairment) affects the next level (e.g., speeding or other failures to obey traffic laws), which subsequently affects the basic maneuvering skills (i.e., the lowest level) were either nonexistent, or largely explained by gender differences in alcohol consumption. We found that although female involvement in skill-related crashes was not different from that of males, females were more likely than males to apply wrong maneuvers when speeding was involved. We also found that the most important contributing factor to gender differences in nonfatal crashes can be traced back to gender-based differences in alcohol consumption.

Licensing Teenagers: Nontraffic Risks and Benefits in the Transition to Driving Status

Objective. The initiation of teen driving, which occurs between ages 15 and 17, has generally been studied primarily in relation to crash injury reduction. However, it may be the most important period influencing development between puberty and emerging adulthood because, once the teens are driving on their own or riding with other teens, parental control over social behavior is greatly reduced and opportunities for risk-taking are substantially increased. The noncrash risks and benefits of licensing during this critical transition period are the subject of this paper. Methods. We identify “transition teens” as a subgroup of all 15-to 17-year-olds who reside in middle-class suburban and rural areas where families can afford a car and where a vehicle is needed for reasonable mobility. In this paper, we review recent studies on the effect of driving on non-traffic-related behaviors of teen drivers. Our analysis suggests that there are two environments that affect behavior and development: the home environment and the extended environment. Before driving age, the home environment influences are omnipresent in the life of the developing child. However, once teens can move more readily within the community and travel outside the home environment on their own or with a peer, they have access to locations where many or all the local controls on risky behavior may be absent. Results and Conclusions. This article introduces the concept of “transitional teens” and provides a rough model that explains the possible risks encountered by this group when they begin to drive a vehicle or to ride with a peer. We offer this model to the research community with a challenge to hypothesize, test, and explore this proposed transitional period so that we can better understand and mitigate its associated risks.

Preventing Alcohol-Related Convictions: The Effect of a Novel Curriculum for First-Time Offenders on DUI Recidivism

Objective. To determine whether DUI offenders can better avoid future drinking and driving by controlling their vehicle usage rather than by controlling their drinking. Methods. Using a randomized experimental post-test only design, 9,571 first-time DUI offenders were randomly assigned to receive one of two 12-hour educational programs: a traditional DUI curriculum or the PARC (Preventing Alcohol-Related Convictions) curriculum, which uses a novel theoretical approach to preventing DUI recidivism. Whereas traditional programs focus on participants controlling their drinking to avoid future drinking and driving, the PARC curriculum focuses on participants controlling their driving. Instead of trying to control alcohol consumption after driving to a drinking venue (previously found to be a flawed strategy), PARC teaches students to make a decision before leaving home not to drive to a drinking event, thus greatly limiting the possibility of drinking and driving. Driving records were obtained from the Florida Department of Motor Vehicles using drivers license numbers to assess DUI recidivism rates among the students in the PARC and Traditional curricula for the first year following program participation and again at 2 years post-intervention. Results. Binary logistic regression analyses revealed that offenders receiving the PARC curriculum exhibited significantly lower 1-year and 2-year recidivism rates than those receiving the Traditional curriculum. The effect was consistent across two different measures of recidivism, and across gender, race, ethnicity, and location. Conclusion. Results suggest that the PARC educational approach may be more effective than the traditional approach in reducing DUI recidivism.

Comparing drug detection in oral fluid and blood: data from a national sample of nighttime drivers.

Objective: The National Roadside Survey is a study undertaken in the United States to determine the prevalence of alcohol and drugs in randomly selected drivers. Following the success of a 2006 pilot study, the 2007 survey incorporated, for the first time, the collection of biological specimens for drug analysis. This article compares the results obtained from blinded analyses of pairs of oral fluid and blood samples obtained from the same subject. Methods: During the 2007 survey, more than 7000 nighttime drivers were randomly stopped and surveyed for their self-reported drug use and were requested to donate an oral fluid specimen using the Quantisal (Immunalysis Corporation, Pomona, CA) device and a blood sample. Overall, 5869 oral fluid specimens were collected from nighttime drivers with 3236 corresponding blood samples. Results: Biological specimens were analyzed for a wide range of drugs. At nighttime, 14.4 percent of the drivers were positive for drugs in oral fluid, with just over half of those having marijuana present (7.6%). Of the 3236 pairs of specimens, 2676 were negative for all drugs, and 326 matched pairs of samples were both positive, out of which 247 (75.8%) were an exact match for all drug classes and 70 (21.5%) were positive for at least one common drug class. Conclusions: Oral fluid and blood samples provided very similar information regarding recent drug intake by randomly tested drivers and oral fluid yielded a higher detection rate for one drug (cocaine) than blood. Oral fluid can be considered a reliable alternative to blood as a matrix for drug testing.

Field testing of the Alere DDS2 mobile test system for drugs in oral fluid

A preliminary field evaluation of a second-generation handheld oral fluid testing device, the Alere DDS2 Mobile Test System (DDS2), is described. As part of a larger study, drivers were randomly stopped at various locations across California (in 2012) and asked to submit voluntarily to a questionnaire regarding their drug and alcohol use, a breath alcohol test and collection of oral fluid with the Quantisal device. The Quantisal-collected oral fluid samples were sent for laboratory-based analyses. At one location, 50 drivers were asked to submit an additional oral fluid sample using the DDS2 collection device; these samples were analyzed by using the DDS2 mobile test system. Thirty-eight donors (76%) provided specimens that were successfully run on the mobile system; in 12 cases (24%), the device failed to provide a valid result. Thirty-two of the 38 collected samples were negative for all drugs; five were positive for tetrahydrocannabinol and one was positive for methamphetamine using the mobile device. These results corresponded exactly with the laboratory-based results from the Quantisal oral fluid collection.