The Incidence of Drugs in Fatally Injured Drivers [1972]

Woodhouse, Edward J. · 1972 · ROSA P / United States. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

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Summary

This 1972 report by the Midwest Research Institute, commissioned by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), investigates the incidence of drugs in fatally injured drivers. The study was motivated by the need to determine the significance of drug use in highway fatalities, specifically aiming to establish baseline data for comparison with living drivers. The primary objective was to develop and validate methods for acquiring and analyzing biological specimens from drivers who died in traffic accidents. The research methodology involved a coordinated effort between NHTSA, Alcohol Safety Action Project (ASAP) areas, coroners, and medical examiners. The institute developed specialized specimen collection kits containing equipment for collecting blood, urine, bile, and alcohol washes of the face and fingers. These kits were distributed to 44 areas, resulting in the return of 191 specimen sets from 18 areas. The analytical protocol focused on detecting 44 commonly abused drugs, including sedatives, tranquilizers, narcotics, and stimulants. The process utilized ion-exchange resin extraction followed by a qualitative thin-layer chromatography (TLC) screen. Positive results were confirmed quantitatively using gas chromatography (GC), with mass spectrometry employed for further identification when necessary. Blood alcohol levels were determined via gas chromatography, while face and finger washings were screened for cannabinoids using TLC. The analysis of the 191 returned specimens yielded significant findings regarding substance use among fatally injured drivers. Alcohol was present in 51% of the drivers, with 33% classified as legally drunk, defined in this study as having a blood alcohol content of 0.15% or higher. Drugs other than alcohol were detected in 24% of the specimens. Specifically, 11% of the drivers had ingested drugs but no alcohol, while 13% had ingested both drugs and alcohol. Notably, no specimens indicated the presence of marijuana, despite the development of a specific TLC method for detecting cannabinoids in facial and finger washings. The study also validated that the ion-exchange resin extraction method provided cleaner extracts and better detection rates for certain drugs, such as morphine and amphetamines, compared to traditional ether extraction. The significance of this report lies in its establishment of a standardized protocol for post-mortem drug analysis in traffic fatalities. It provides early empirical evidence that a substantial portion of fatally injured drivers had consumed drugs, either alone or in combination with alcohol. The findings underscore the complexity of impairment in traffic accidents, highlighting that drug involvement extends beyond alcohol consumption. The developed analytical methods and collection procedures laid the groundwork for future forensic toxicology studies in traffic safety, enabling more accurate assessments of drug-related crash causation.

Key finding

Among 191 fatally injured drivers, 51% had ingested alcohol, 33% were legally drunk, and 24% had drugs other than alcohol in their system, with no marihuana detected.

Methodology

field_study

Sample size: 191

Provenance

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Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-10; verification: verified.

Topics

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• illicit drugs
• cannabis