Deliverable D1.docVIP

CONTENTS Executive summary 3 Introduction 6 The driving task 6 Methodologies for evaluating the influence of drugs on driving 7 Epidemiological data 9 Descriptive epidemiological studies 9 Responsibility analysis studies 13 Studies with control groups 14 Pharmaco-epidemiological data: overview table 15 Illicit drugs with an influence on driving performance 17 Cannabis 17 Opiates (Heroin) 19 Cocaine 20 Amphetamines / designer amphetamines 21 Other synthetic drugs / hallucinogens 23 Medicinal drugs with an influence on driving performance 25 Hypnotics, sedatives, anxiolytics - Benzodiazepines 25 Antidepressants 27 Neuroleptics 28 Narcotic / opioid analgesics 29 Antihistamines (H1-receptor antagonists) 30 Classification of medicinal drugs according to their influence on driving performance and warning systems in European countries 31 Categorisation system by Wolschrijn et al 31 Categorisation of medicines in Belgium 31 Italy 32 Netherlands 32 Nordic countries 32 France 32 Glossary 43 Acknowledgements 43 References 44 Drugs and medicines that are suspected to have a detrimental impact on road user performance EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Driving is a complex task where the driver continuously receives information, analyses it and reacts. Substances that have an influence on brain functions or on mental processes involved in driving will clearly affect the driving performance. Different studies provide information about the influence of illicit drugs and licit medicines on driving performance: They can be classified into three main types: epidemiological studies, pharmaco-epidemiological studies and experimental studies. Epidemiological studies are necessary to estimate the importance of the problem. They can be conducted in three different ways: Descriptive epidemiological studies: the prevalence of psychoactive drugs in the driving population is determined on representative samples selected according to various criteria: the whole driving population, injured or killed drivers