[Measuring blood alcohol concentration on the road as a tool for early identification of subjects with alcohol-related problems].
This paper deals with some considerations showing the phenomenon 'alcohol and driving' doesn't have primary character. Instead, it springs from the individual's state leading him to drink over and over again too much alcoholic beverages. The fact that such a subject will drive in state of drunkenness afterwards is accidental, even if frequent. Therefore, to improve the road safety, as well as the social safety, action on the individual as regards its excessive alcohol consumption is needed. Nevertheless, for different reasons (bad information, underestimation of the risk, social reproval), who has problems with alcohol tends to hide himself; therefore problematic subjects are not easy to be identified. To get round this impediment, we propose to use BAC (Blood Alcohol Concentration) drivers' controls on the road to identify such as subjects, taking as cutoff a BAC greater than 1.5 g/l, or at least twice overcoming the legal limit (0.5 g/l), apart from the BAC value in itself In this way it would be possible to offer an early chance of specialistic assistance beforehand to help them to settle their own problem with the alcohol. This approach could be a successful strategy since among the subjects that would come so identified many are clearly in acceptable psycophysical state (as they can drive); many are young people (therefore subjects at the beginning of drinker's career); practically all have a good grounds for solving their problem (to get driving licence back). Of course, if this program had to have put into effect it would be necessary to strengthen the specialised Alcohol Services and therefore to bear the cost of it. Nevertheless, the outcomes would have significant spin-off not only on the road safety but, in more broad terms, on the social safety too.
Taggi
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F
Environment and Trauma Section, Environment and Primary Prevention Department, Istituto Superiore di Sanitei (National Institute of Health), Rome, Italy. franco.taggi@iss.it
Macchia
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T
D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000517:prevention & control*; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000517:prevention & control*; D000435:Alcoholic Intoxication / Q000097:blood* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000517:prevention & control*; D001334:Automobile Driving / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D000431:Ethanol / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012449:Safety
D000431:Ethanol