| Popis: |
Publisher Summary This chapter discusses drugs and driving. Every year, more than a million people are killed and many millions more are injured in traffic crashes. Traffic crashes are the consequence of many factors, which can be classified into three categories: the road, the vehicle, and the driver. A crash is rarely attributable to only one factor; therefore, it is very difficult to determine in what percentage of crashes alcohol or drugs have contributed. Toxicological analysis can be performed on samples of drivers suspected of “driving under the influence of drugs” (DUID) and drivers injured or killed as a consequence of a traffic accident, and on samples of drivers that were collected during roadside surveys. A typical procedure of toxicological analysis involves two steps: screening and confirmation. Usually an immunoassay followed by a chromatographic method is performed: the first allows for a preliminary monitoring of a large number of samples in a reduced period of time; while the second step provides the required specificity. There has recently been an increase in the repertoire of immunoassays now available with the techniques becoming increasingly more specific for the drugs and/or metabolites being monitored. |
