ABSTRACT
Anincreasingnumberofdriverskilledinroadtrafficaccidentsaretestingpositive forillicitdrugs.Thisstudyaimedtoassesstheeffectsofillicitdruguseina clubbingenvironmentonskillsrelatedtocardrivingperformance,usingatest batteryincludingcriticalflickerfusion(CFF),compensatorytracking(CTT), mentalarithmetic(MA),Strooptask(STP)andrapidvisualinformationprocessing (RVIP).Fortheanalysis,post-clubbingdrugandbloodalcoholconcentration screeningwasusedtodividesubjectsintotwogroups,'drugpositive'and'clear'. AlthoughCNSarousal(CFF)wassignificantlyhigherinthedrugpositivegroup reflectingthewidespreaduseofpsychostimulants,reactiontimesintheSTPand MAweresignificantlyslowerthanthoseofclearsubjects.Thesefindingssuggest thattheuseofillicitdrugsduringclubbingcouldimpairsomedrivingskills . Furtherresearchisrequiredtoconfirmthenatureandextentofthisimpairmentand toprovideasoundbasisforapublicitycampaigntargetedatclubbers.
