1. Drug Use by Tractor-Trailer Drivers
- Author
-
Richard D. Blomberg, David F. Preusser, Allan F. Williams, and Adrian K. Lund
- Subjects
Drug ,business.industry ,media_common.quotation_subject ,Poison control ,Urine ,Pharmacology ,Pathology and Forensic Medicine ,Environmental health ,Injury prevention ,Genetics ,medicine ,Medical prescription ,Amphetamine ,business ,human activities ,Mass screening ,Phenylpropanolamine ,medicine.drug ,media_common - Abstract
Blood or urine samples or both were obtained from 317 of 359 randomly selected tractor-trailer drivers asked to participate in a driver health survey conducted at a truck weighing station on Interstate 40 in Tennessee. Altogether, 29% of the drivers had evidence of alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, prescription or nonprescription stimulants, or some combination of these, in either blood or urine. Cannabinoids were found in 15% of the drivers' blood or urine; nonprescription stimulants such as phenylpropanolamine were found in 12%; prescription stimulants such as amphetamine were found in 5%; cocaine metabolites were found in 2%; and alcohol was found in less than 1%. These results provide the first objective information about the use of potentially abusive drugs by tractor-trailer drivers. The extent of driver impairment attributable to the observed drugs is uncertain because of the complex relationship between performance and drug concentrations.
- Published
- 1988