Citation

Zabel G, Zabel U. Blutalkohol 1991; 28(2): 65-83.

Vernacular Title

Zur Fahreignung von Alkoholtatern--Eignungstest und verkehrspsychologische

Copyright

(Copyright © 1991, International Committee on Alcohol, Drugs and Traffic Safety and Bund gegen Alkohol und Drogen im Straßenverkehr, Publisher Steintor Verlag)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

2043336

Abstract

1) No Therapy Without Screening: According to the prevailing opinion of jurists and psychologists who are occupied with problems concerning post-schooling and of the traffic authorities in charge of issuing driving licences screening is absolutely necessary with regard to traffic-psychological post-schoolings as characteristical maladjustments of either reparable or irreparable nature can only be detected at such screening. Only medical and psychological screening can help to achieve the necessary clarification. Screening is frequently connected with counselling for therapy, as it is for example stressed in the names of the institutions concerned in the lander of Rhineland-Palatine, North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony.

2) Exclusion of Drink-Drivers: Screening is particularly essential to exclude the so called drink-drivers who are alcoholics from post-schooling. The necessity of such an exclusion is stressed by Muller's latest investigation of traffic--accident data in correlation to the blood-alcohol concentration, and it must be assumed that the percentage of undetected drink-drivers with a medium blood-alcohol concentration is extremely high. One has to agree with Himmelreich that models for post-schooling must not exclude alcoholics and criminal offenders. In this case one has to differentiate between the problem drinker who can be post-schooled and the drink-driver described by Winkler. Bode and Scherer with rigid drinking habits, a raised disposition for risk and a reduced responsibility according to sections 20, 21 of the German Criminal Law (StGB) to such an extend that a consciousness of guilt can be ruled out. Already after the preliminary examination of such alcoholics it has to be assumed that an immediate traffic-psychological post-schooling will hardly be successful because of the lack or considerably reduced ability of responsibility. Post-schoolings do not have compensatory effects when regular alcohol abuse (drink-driver) is concerned. In extreme cases a detoxication and the attendance of sessions of a self-help group would have to take place first. Only afterwards a traffic-psychological post-schooling can be carried out as a long term therapy.

3) Models for the Post-schooling of Individuals Tested: The "Saarbrucken model" of a collaboration of the medical-psychological institutes of the technical supervision union (TUV) and independent psychologists allows a culmination of different post-schooling and control measures with drink-drivers after negative examinations: medical tests, laboratory, chemical checks of the liver data, traffic-psychological post-schoolings of individuals and the attendance of sessions of self-help groups.