ABSTRACT
Compared with drunken driving, which is as old as motor-driven transportation, driving under the influence of psychoactive substances other than alcohol is a relatively new problem for road-traffic safety. Drug-impaired driving represents a global problem for public health and longevity and more effective ways of dealing with traffic delinquents and high-risk offenders should be made a top priority for government action. The prosecution of impaired drivers was strengthened in the 1930s when medical evidence was presented to the court as proof that a driver was impaired by alcohol or drugs. According to a British newspaper report, the first conviction for a drunk-driving offense occurred in London, England, in 1897. The prevalence of alcohol and drug use by drivers is usually determined through a close collaboration with the police authorities and in some nations they are allowed to make random checks of driver sobriety by requesting samples of blood, breath, or oral fluids for analysis of alcohol and other drugs.
