The existing literature on the prevalence of drug driving, the effects of drugs on driving performance, risk factors and risk perceptions associated with drug driving was reviewed. The 12-month prevalence of drug driving among the general population is approximately 4%. Drugs are detected commonly among those involved in motor vehicle accidents, with studies reporting up to 25% of accident-invo...

The background to and current status of the drink driving law in the United Kingdom is explained. Screening tests and analytical methods for alcohol in blood, breath and urine are described. Legal limits of 80 mg/100 mL in blood, 107 mg/100 mL in urine and 35 microg/100 mL in breath have been set. Penalties for exceeding the legal limit include a twelve month ban from driving for a first offenc...

Jonas Licurgo Ferreira was drunk the night he crashed his car. The 41-year-old resident of Rio de Janeiro had been drinking heavily with a soldier friend who was messing around with a gun in the car when it happened. He hit a post. The gun went off, putting a bullet into Ferreira’s spine. “Now I am paraplegic because of a gunshot,” he says. But he knows that the real harm was done by the alcoho...