Doug Beirness Alcohol and Drug Use by Drivers: Findings From Five Roadside Surveys Can DART
Doug Beirness
Alcohol and Drug Use by Drivers: Findings From
Five Roadside Surveys
CanDART
Background 5 Jurisdictional Surveys (Sept 2016 – Sept 2018) Provide current, reliable and valid estimate of
prevalence of alcohol and drug use by drivers Provide information on temporal, geographic and
demographic characteristics of those involved Together, can be used to establish a baseline of
cannabis use by drivers prior to legalization
CanDART
Locations1. Manitoba - Sept 20162. Ontario - June/Sept 20173. British Columbia - June 20184. Yukon – June 20185. Northwest Territories – Sept
2018
Cities• Winnipeg, Brandon, Portage la Prairie,
Thompson, Steinbach• London, Renfrew County (Pembroke,
Petawawa, Renfrew, Arnprior) North Bay, Timmins, Trenton, Peterborough, Peel Region
• Vancouver, Victoria, Abbotsford, Kelowna, Prince George
• Whitehorse• Yellowknife
CCMTA ProtocolWed – Sat nights 9PM – 3 AM 4 locations per night
(90 min each) 4-5 interviewers Police assist with traffic Voluntary! Allows data to be merged
Roadside Surveys
CanDART
Breath and Oral Fluid Samples
CanDART
Oral Fluid Quantisal oral fluid collection kit 2 minutes to collect 1mL OF Sent by courier to lab Screened with immunoassay;
confirmed by LC/MS-MSmeasures recent use parent drug vs metabolites $10 Gift Card
CanDART
Vehicles SelectedN=7,265
Agreed to Participate
n=5,866 (80.7%)
Breath Samplen=5,595 (90.9%)
Oral Fluid Samplen=5,293 (85.9%)
Refused Alln=1,399 (19.3%)
Age Distribution
16.214.7
21.5
14.915.7
11.0
6.26.75.8
16.9 16.4
18.4 17.8 17.6
0
5
10
15
20
25
16-21 22-25 26-35 36-45 46-55 56-65 66+
Perc
ent
Age Group
SurveyPopulation
Male = 63.5%
CanDART
BAC Distribution4.3
2.9
0.8 0.7
0.0
1.0
2.0
3.0
4.0
5.0
Positive 5-49 50-80 >80
Perc
ent
BAC (mg/dL)CanDART
BAC Distribution14.9
10.2
2.2 2.4
4.32.9
0.8 0.70.0
2.0
4.0
6.0
8.0
10.0
12.0
14.0
16.0
Positive <50 50-80 >80
Perc
ent
BAC mg/dL
1998 (BC)2017-1871%
CanDART
Drugs
No Drug89.9% Drug
10.1%
THC74%
Stim 27.8%
Opioids10.3%
Depres0.9%
• Cannabis = 74% of all drugs------------------------• One Drug = 8.8%• Two Drugs = 1.3%------------------------• Alc/Drug or Both= 12.9%-------------------------• Among Drinking Drivers,
20% also positive for Drugs
CanDART
Drug Use by Drivers(BC 2010 – 2018)
7.2 7.4
8.5
3.3
4.7
6.0
0
2
4
6
8
10
2010 2012 2018
All Drugs
Cannabis
Perc
ent
All Drugs 18%Cannabis 82%
CanDART
Alcohol and THC Positive Drivers According to Age Group
2.1
3.9
5.54.6 4.1 4.3 4.2
7.4
12.4
108.9
3.6
2.12.9
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16-18 19-25 26-35 36-45 46-55 56-65 66+
Perc
ent
Age Group
AlcoholTHC
CanDART
Alcohol and THC Positive Drivers According to Age Group (ON 2017)
0.0
4.6 5.2 4.26.5
2.2
10.3
19.2
13.4
10.4
5.5 6.2
0.0
5.0
10.0
15.0
20.0
16-18 19-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55+
Perc
ent
Age Group
AlcoholDrugs
CanDART
Drug Use by Age GroupBC (2012 & 2018)
4.8
9.0
5.1
11.5
8.77.9
0.9
4.1
12.7
7.76.8
4.7
13.312.1
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16-18 19-25 26-35 36-45 46-55 56-65 66+
Perc
ent
Age Group
20122018
CanDART
2.03.2 3.2 4.1
6.5
17.8
13.5
2.4
0
5
10
15
20
16-18 19-25 26-35 36+
Perc
ent
Age Group
AlcoholTHC
Alcohol and THC Positive NoviceDrivers According to Age Group
CanDART
Alcohol and THC Positive Drivers According to Survey Night
3.0 2.8
4.5
6.26.7 6.9
8.9
7.3
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
Perc
ent
AlcoholTHC
CanDART
Alcohol and THC Positive Drivers According to Survey Time
4.5
2.2
5.6
3.6
5.76.76.2 5.6
7.2
10.0
14.813.7
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
9-10 10-11 11-12 12-1 1-2 2-3
Perc
ent
Survey Time
AlcoholTHC
CanDART
Who’s in the Vehicle?
3.92.9
4.6
6.4
4.4
2.5
7.7
4.7
6.1
11.5
6.6
13.3
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
Driver Family Pass Diff Sex Pass Same Sex Group Diff Sex Group Same Sex
Perc
ent
AlcoholTHC
CanDART
Trip Origin
2.5 2.3
6.6 6.5
8.0
6.0
0.5
6.05.1
10.0 10.2
4.1
6.9
5.4
7.2 7.4
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
Perc
ent
AlcoholTHC
CanDART
Where are you going?
0.5
4.63.8 3.5
11.3
0.9
7.0
4.8
7.7
6.1
12.713.8
6.6
3.1
10.1
13.1
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14Pe
rcen
t
AlcoholTHC
CanDART
What did we learn? Alcohol decreased
dramaticallyCannabis more common than
alcohol among drivers -increasing Younger drivers 19-25 Older Novice drivers (19-25) Not just weekends Late night Groups of younger males
CanDART
Final Word Public interest is high Misinformation/confusion Need to understand
patterns of use, social norms Need to re-assess in 2-3
years to determine impact of legalization
CanDART