Drink and Drug Message Still Not Hitting Home

The latest data released by the DGT has revealed that 43% of the drivers who died in traffic related incidents in the last year, on urban and interurban roads, tested positive for alcohol, drugs or both.

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The report by the National Institute of Toxicology and Forensic Sciences (INTCF) indicates that the figures show almost identical levels as those of 2015, a trend which has stabilised and therefore not shown either an increase, or decline, since 2013.

Of the 589 samples analyzed, there is a significant indication in the differences between men and women, in that a staggering 95% of those who died with alcohol and / or drugs in their system were men. The myth that alcohol and drug use is more prolific in the younger age group has once again been dismissed as 67% of those who died were between 25 and 54 years of age, with a predominance of the group of 45 to 54 year olds, in which 25% of the cases are recorded.

When analyzing substances, about 69% had taken alcohol, while the presence of drugs reached 36% and that of psychotropic drugs 21%.

As for drug use, cocaine and cannabis are the most frequently found in 48% of tests. In case of having detected the presence of a single drug instead of an association of them, cannabis prevails.

The report also includes a study conducted on the total of 167 pedestrians who died as a result of a traffic related incident. In this case, 32% of those killed had consumed some form of substance. Also males (72%) who tested positive in these tests for alcohol, other drugs and / or psychotropic drugs far outnumbered women.