Drug use by tractor-trailer drivers.
Blood or urine samples or both were obtained from 317 of 359 randomly selected tractor-trailer drivers asked to participate in a driver health survey conducted at a truck weighing station on Interstate 40 in Tennessee. Altogether, 29% of the drivers had evidence of alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, prescription or nonprescription stimulants, or some combination of these, in either blood or urine. Cannabinoids were found in 15% of the drivers' blood or urine; nonprescription stimulants such as phenylpropanolamine were found in 12%; prescription stimulants such as amphetamine were found in 5%; cocaine metabolites were found in 2%; and alcohol was found in less than 1%. These results provide the first objective information about the use of potentially abusive drugs by tractor-trailer drivers. The extent of driver impairment attributable to the observed drugs is uncertain because of the complex relationship between performance and drug concentrations.
Lund
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AK
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, Washington, DC.
Preusser
D F
DF
Blomberg
R D
RD
Williams
A F
AF
D001334:Automobile Driving; D002186:Cannabinoids / Q000032:analysis; D003042:Cocaine / Q000032:analysis; D000431:Ethanol / Q000032:analysis; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D013287:Illicit Drugs / Q000032:analysis* / Q000097:blood / Q000652:urine; D008403:Mass Screening; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000652:urine; D013566:Sympathomimetics / Q000032:analysis
D002186:Cannabinoids; D013287:Illicit Drugs; D013566:Sympathomimetics; D000431:Ethanol; D003042:Cocaine