Alcohol limit for drink driving should be much lower
http://www.100md.com
《英国医生杂志》
EDITOR—For more than a century alcohol has been recognised as one of the principal risk factors for motor vehicle crashes.1 Nearly half of the roughly 35 000 fatal motor vehicle crashes in the United States each year are alcohol related, meaning that someone in the crash, usually a driver, is intoxicated.
Currently, a blood alcohol concentration ranging from 0.08 to 0.10 mg per 100 ml constitutes prima facie evidence in most countries for driving under the influence of alcohol. In the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, South Africa, and Sri Lanka the legal limit is 0.08 mg per 100 ml, which is too high as driving skills deteriorate and the risk of becoming involved in a crash risk increases from a concentration of 0.02 mg per 100 ml. In their comprehensive review Zador et al estimated that a driver's risk of being in a fatal crash increased significantly from 0.02 mg per 100 ml.2 Scientific data provide clear evidence that important driving skills are impaired at very low blood alcohol concentrations.
Because the legal blood alcohol concentration in most countries is so high, people often mistakenly believe that they may drive up to a blood alcohol concentration of 0.8 mg per 100 ml, overlooking the fact that driving is impaired at lower concentrations. To set a blood alcohol limit so high that a 72 kg man can drink four bottles of beer and still be under the legal limit has consequences. It may adversely influence people's estimates of their relative risk of injury or death while driving. Drinking and driving policies and decisions about enforcement need to be hinged on the scientific evidence.3
Ediriweera B R Desapriya, research associate, department of paediatrics
Centre for Community Child Health Research, 4480 Oak Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6H 3V4 edesap@cw.bc.ca
Competing interests: None declared.
References
National Institute on Drug Abuse. Consensus development panel. Drug concentrations and driving impairment. JAMA 1985;254: 2618-21.
Zador PL, Krawchuk SA, Voas RB. Alcohol-related relative risk of driver fatalities and driver involvement in fatal crashes in relation to driver age and gender: an update using 1996 data. J Stud Alcohol 2000;61: 387-95.
Desapriya EBR, Nobutada I. International policies on alcohol impaired driving: are legal blood alcohol concentration (BAC) limits in motorized countries compatible with the scientific evidence? Japanese Journal of Alcohol and Drug Dependence 2003;38: 83-102.
Currently, a blood alcohol concentration ranging from 0.08 to 0.10 mg per 100 ml constitutes prima facie evidence in most countries for driving under the influence of alcohol. In the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, South Africa, and Sri Lanka the legal limit is 0.08 mg per 100 ml, which is too high as driving skills deteriorate and the risk of becoming involved in a crash risk increases from a concentration of 0.02 mg per 100 ml. In their comprehensive review Zador et al estimated that a driver's risk of being in a fatal crash increased significantly from 0.02 mg per 100 ml.2 Scientific data provide clear evidence that important driving skills are impaired at very low blood alcohol concentrations.
Because the legal blood alcohol concentration in most countries is so high, people often mistakenly believe that they may drive up to a blood alcohol concentration of 0.8 mg per 100 ml, overlooking the fact that driving is impaired at lower concentrations. To set a blood alcohol limit so high that a 72 kg man can drink four bottles of beer and still be under the legal limit has consequences. It may adversely influence people's estimates of their relative risk of injury or death while driving. Drinking and driving policies and decisions about enforcement need to be hinged on the scientific evidence.3
Ediriweera B R Desapriya, research associate, department of paediatrics
Centre for Community Child Health Research, 4480 Oak Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6H 3V4 edesap@cw.bc.ca
Competing interests: None declared.
References
National Institute on Drug Abuse. Consensus development panel. Drug concentrations and driving impairment. JAMA 1985;254: 2618-21.
Zador PL, Krawchuk SA, Voas RB. Alcohol-related relative risk of driver fatalities and driver involvement in fatal crashes in relation to driver age and gender: an update using 1996 data. J Stud Alcohol 2000;61: 387-95.
Desapriya EBR, Nobutada I. International policies on alcohol impaired driving: are legal blood alcohol concentration (BAC) limits in motorized countries compatible with the scientific evidence? Japanese Journal of Alcohol and Drug Dependence 2003;38: 83-102.