Alcohol/drug abuse, driving convictions, and risk-taking dispositions among trauma center patients

The objective of this study was to evaluate the relationship between alcoho l/drug abuse diagnoses, driving convictions (speeding, reckless driving, im paired driving, license violations), and risk-taking dispositions among a s eries of injured drivers admitted to a trauma center. The driving records o f 778 patients were linked to diagnoses of psychoactive substance use disor ders (PSUDs), admission blood alcohol concentration (BAC), mode of injury, and results of a risk-taking disposition survey. Twenty-nine percent of pat ients had one or more convictions in the 3 years before injury. Types of vi olation were not related to mode of injury. Although there was a positive a ssociation between prior impaired-driving convictions, current alcohol depe ndence, and a BAC + status, a consistent pattern relative to other violatio ns, PSUDs, and BAC status was not apparent. Risk-taking disposition scale s cores indicated that patients without PSUDs and without convictions tended toward less risk-taking behavior than patients with PSUDs and with convicti ons. The complex inter-relationships between PSUDs, risk-taking disposition s, and being convicted of driving dangerously require additional study so t hat intervention programs and injury prevention initiatives can be targeted effectively. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.