Citation

Klebelsberg D. IATSS Res. 1988; 12(1): 24-32.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1988, International Association of Traffic and Safety Sciences, Publisher Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Before examining the relation between drugs and safety, an attempt is made to define the concepts of "traffic safety", "drug", and "effect". In this connection traffic safety is taken to mean fitness to drive. When the concept drug is discussed, a distinction is made between ethanol and drugs other than alcohol. The difference between several types of effects, and simple and interaction effects is dealt with under the concept of effect. The reflections focused on the question of general forms of possible mechanisms of the effects of drugs on fitness to drive. The effects relate to both performance and motivation, and one can distinguish between direct, primary effects and indirect, secondary ones. Safe driving behavior does not depend on the objective danger of a situation, but rather on the subjective interpretation of the situation. The assessment of the practical importance of the effects of drugs depends on the initial state, the perception of the primary effect, the type of perceptual selection, the emotional and cognitive processing of the secondary effect, and their influence on the subjective safety of the driver.