Methylamphetamine is the most common illicit drug found in injured and fatal car drivers and motorcyclists in Victoria from 2010 to 2019, Monash University-led research has found.
Published in the journal Injury Prevention, the largest study of its kind conducted in Australia examined substances present in 19,843 injured drivers and 1,596 fatally injured drivers and found methylamphetamine had the highest prevalence, found in 12.3 per cent of fatalities and 9.1 per cent of injured drivers, demonstrating an increase over time.
This cross-sectional analysis explored the trends of alcohol, methylamphetamine, MDMA and cannabis (THC) in road crashes and used data from the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine and Victoria Police to assess drug prevalence in injured and deceased drivers across a period of 10 years.
Overall, the study found 16.8 per cent of car drivers and motorcyclists tested positive for one or more drugs, with 14 per cent of crashes overall involving a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.05 per cent. There was a decline in alcohol detections among fatalities specifically.
Co-senior author Adjunct Associate Professor Dimitri Gerostamoulos from Monash University’s Department of Forensic Medicine and the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine, said the findings indicated that despite enhanced road safety measures in Victoria, drug driving persists, indicating a need for revised prevention strategies to target the growing issue.
Adjunct Associate Professor Gerostamoulos said the data indicates that methylamphetamine is the most prevalent illicit drug on Victorian roads, with a notable increase in detections among injured drivers.
“MDMA use has remained relatively stable over time at a low prevalence in fatalities, with a decline in injured drivers, while THC detections have slightly increased. There was a higher incidence of drug-positive driving in men and individuals aged between 25 and 59, as well as patterns of increasing drug use in motorcyclists,” Adjunct Associate Professor Gerostamoulos said.
“Despite a decline in alcohol among fatalities, it continues to contribute to road crashes, with a higher proportion of drivers and motorcyclists with a BAC over 0.05 per cent compared with studies from other Australian states.
“These findings confirm that the drugs that cause the most harm on Victorian roads continue to be methylamphetamine, alcohol and cannabis.”
Read the full paper in Injury Prevention: Here.
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