title: Lorazepam impairs highway driving performance more than heavy alcohol consumption.
abstract: While research indicates that benzodiazepine (BZD)-like drugs impair driving performance, it remains unclear (i) how far BZDs affect lane-keeping performance, compared with alcohol and (ii) to what extent this impact can realistically be measured in a simulated environment. To clarify these issues, 16 healthy male drivers who had never previously taken BZDs underwent a randomized, crossover, double-blind, placebo-controlled driving paradigm (with the BZD lorazepam) in both real-world and simulated settings. Two lane-keeping variables, namely inappropriate line crossings (ILCs) and standard deviation of lateral position (SDLP), were recorded during the driving sessions. Analyses revealed that (i) a single lorazepam dose (2 mg given by mouth) caused higher SDLP increases than a blood alcohol concentration of above 0.05%, and that (ii) this BZD effect was amplified in the simulated driving setting, mainly for ILCs. As a consequence, we recommend that physicians be made more aware of BZD-related risks and that researchers make a clear distinction between the effects of BZD intake per se and the impact of simulated driving settings.
authors.affiliation: UMR 5263 CNRS - EPHE - Toulouse II University, "CLLE-LTC" Laboratory, Toulouse, France. Electronic address: daurat@univ-tlse2.fr.
authors.forename: Agnès
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Daurat
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sagaspe
authors.forename: Ladislav
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Moták
authors.forename: Jacques
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Taillard
authors.forename: Laetitia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bayssac
authors.forename: Nathalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Huet
authors.forename: Colas
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Authié
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mestre
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Philip
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000009:adverse effects*; D014151:Anti-Anxiety Agents / Q000009:adverse effects*; D001334:Automobile Driving / Q000523:psychology*; D003198:Computer Simulation; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D064368:Healthy Volunteers; D006801:Humans; D008140:Lorazepam / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008297:Male; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D014151:Anti-Anxiety Agents; D008140:Lorazepam
keywords: Benzodiazepine; Line-crossing; On-road driving; Simulator; Weaving