Drug Use among Iranian Drivers Involved in Fatal Car Accidents

Abstract

Background: Although the problem of substance use among drivers is not limited to certain parts of the world, most epidemiological reports on this topic have been published from industrial world.Aim: To investigate pattern of drug use among Iranian drivers who were involved in fatal road accidents.Methods: This study enrolled 51 Iranian adults who were involved in fatal vehicle accidents and were imprisoned thereafter. Data came from a national survey of drug abuse that was done among Iranian prisoners. The survey collected data at the entry to seven prisons in different regions of the country during a 4-month period in 2008. Self-reported lifetime, last year, and last month drug use was measured. Commercial substance screening tests were applied to detect recent substance use (opioids, cannabinoids, methamphetamines, and benzodiazepines).Results: The commercial substance screening test showed three distinct patterns of recent illicit drug use: opioids (37.3%), cannabinoids (2.0%), opioids and cannabinoids (13.7%). 29.4% were also positive for benzodiazepines. The substance use screening test detected 23.5% of participants who had used drugs but did not disclose any substance use.Conclusion: Opioids are the most common illicit drugs being used by Iranian drivers who are involved in fatal car accidents. The high rate of substance use prior to fatal car accidents in Iran advocates for the need for drug use control policies and programs as major strategies for injury prevention in Iran. There is also a need for substance screening among all drivers involved in fatal car accidents in Iran, as more than 20% of users may not disclose substance use.

Incidence of Substance Abuse Among Cab-drivers Involved in Non Fatal Accidents

“…In addition, 90.6% abused two or more substances concomitantly and 9.4% had single substance. These results are comparable to those reported by Assari et al (2014) who reported that, 60% of Iranian drivers who are involved in fatal car accidents use drugs. However, they found opioids to be the most common abused substance followed by cannabis.…”

Prevalence of Addiction and Smoking and Their Relationship With Blood Parameters Among Drivers in Zahedan

“…Nevertheless, frequency of smoking was greater than drug use in Zahedan drivers, which was relatively low, compared to previous studies in Iran (5, 16) and worldwide (11-13). A study conducted in Iran (18) reported the prevalence of smoking in drivers 25%.…”

“…Besides, the above studies were conducted several years ago, when use of compounds that make opiates undetectable in blood was not so common among drivers. Furthermore, high frequency of drug use among the smoking drivers and high frequency of smoking drivers (5, 11, 12, 16) also show why drug use was reported so low in this study.…”

“…A study in Iran reported the prevalence of drug use among drivers who had the history of car accident more than 50% (5, 17). Using morphine-check test, Motevalian et al (16) reported the prevalence of opiate use in heavy vehicle drivers close to 15%, and the prevalence of smoking 52%.…”

“…Many studies show that accidents and their severity are associated with age, sleepiness, drug use and smoking (5-11). Some studies attribute accidents causing injury specifically to behavior changes in drivers following smoking and history of smoking (10-12).…”