New Research On The Role Of Alcohol And Drugs In Road Accidents

Drugs, Driving and Traffic Safety gives a comprehensive overview of the effects of different medical conditions like neurological disorders, anxiety and depression and their pharmaceutical treatment on driving ability. In addition, the effects of alcohol and drugs of abuse are discussed. Leading experts present the different methodologies to examine effects of drugs on driving, and summarize the recent scientific evidence including epidemiological studies, roadside surveys, laboratory tests, driving simulators, and the standardized driving test. The volume includes guidelines of the International Council on Alcohol, Drugs and Traffic Safety (ICADTS) and the ICADTS Drugs List 2007. Drugs, Driving and Traffic Safety is written for physicians, psychiatrists and pharmacists who want to inform their patients who use psychoactive drugs.

Alcohol use by young people is extremely dangerous - both to themselves and society at large. Underage alcohol use is associated with traffic fatalities, violence, unsafe sex, suicide, educational failure, and other problem behaviors that diminish the prospects of future success, as well as health risks â€" and the earlier teens start drinking, the greater the danger. Despite these serious concerns, the media continues to make drinking look attractive to youth, and it remains possible and even easy for teenagers to get access to alcohol. Why is this dangerous behavior so pervasive? What can be done to prevent it? What will work and who is responsible for making sure it happens? Reducing Underage Drinking addresses these questions and proposes a new way to combat underage alcohol use. It explores the ways in which may different individuals and groups contribute to the problem and how they can be enlisted to prevent it. Reducing Underage Drinking will serve as both a game plan and a call to arms for anyone with an investment in youth health and safety.

In Alcohol, Cocaine, and Accidents leading experts provide concise yet focused scientific reviews of the role of alcohol and cocaine in automotive, aviation, and aquatic accidents. The authoritative contributors present both applied research and epidemiological studies, with emphasis on the prevention of injuries through an increased use of appropriate educational labels, law enforcement, and personal and community-based prevention programs. In addition to detailed topical coverage, the articles suggest prevention strategies and provide supporting data for the role of treatment in reducing accidents. Alcohol, Cocaine, and Accidents will be of interest to substance abuse researchers, law enforcement officials, treatment providers, policy makers, and legislators responsible for regulating alcohol and drug use, as well as safety issues in all areas of transportation.

This volume is the eighth in the Research Advances Series and the fifth published by Plenum Press. The purpose of the series is to review new work in rapidly changing fields. We do not expect reviews to cover the whole field of work on alcoholism and addiction. Nor do we expect that they will be like annual reviews covering all work in a delimited field. Our reviews are designed to explore only the most exciting parts of the total field and to focus on conclusions that can be made about them. The series publishes one volume each year. Volume 8 is an omnibus rather than a theme volume in that a wide range of topics is covered, including research on alcohol, opiates, and tobacco. As usual, the greater emphasis is on alcohol research, reflecting the importance of the problem and the volume of work to be reviewed. With Volume 8 come some changes in the Editorial Board. It will be the last volume in the series for Robert E. Popham who has resigned from the Board. He has been with the series since its inception and has contributed a great deal to its development. The members of the Board are grateful for his help. We are adding two new members: Dr. Howard Cappell, whose field is experimental psychology, and Dr. Edward M. Sellers, in clinical medicine and pharmacology.

This book continues the series of reviews of research advances first published in 1974. The editors' aim here is to present critical and integrative reviews by internationally recognized scholars of areas in which there has been much recent research. In this task we have been greatly helped by the staff of Plenum Press and the Advisory Panel listed at the front of this volume. Several members of the Panel have retired: Dr. W.M.D. Paton, Dr. K. Bruun, Dr. K.F. Killam, and Dr. J .R. Seeley. Dr. Klaus Makela has accepted our invitation to join the Panel. Unfortunately, one member of the Panel, Professor William McGlothlin, died as a result of a tragic accident. He was a gifted and sensitive researcher. His work over many years was well known to those studying alcohol and drug problems. We want to acknowledge his contributions to the Research Advances Series and to the field in general. The editors wish to acknowledge the help of Julliana Newell Ayoub in preparation of this volume. This volume contains three papers by H. Fingarette, R. Room, and B. Kissin, on "The Disease Concept." They were originally prepared for an earlier volume but could not be included because of scheduling problems. The editors, and not the authors, are responsible for this delay. Because they are primarily philosophical and theoretical in nature they are not diminished in value by the lesser number of references to recent research.