It is an offence to drive a car whilst impaired due to use of a psychoactive substance. The incidence of illegal drug use has escalated in recent years, and this escalation is also represented in the driving population.. At present there is no objective tool which can be used at the roadside to assess the drug induced performance impairment of drivers suspected of illegal drug intoxication. A literature analysis highlighted that empirical investigation into the cognitive and psychomotor effects of illegal drug use on aspects of performance related to car driving was scarce. By drawing together empirical and epidemiological evidence it is possible to conclude that driver impairment, as a consequence of illegal drug use poses a significant threat to traffic safety. Psychopharmacology is based on the premise that drugs affect behaviour, and that this change in behaviour is measurable. Behaviour is assessed through the use of repeated psychometric assessment in the laboratory. The aim of this thesis was to demonstrate that by using a portable device it was possible to reliably assess drug induced performance impairment in field conditions, with just one set of assessments.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:502584 |
| Date | January 2006 |
| Creators | Degia, Andria-Louise |
| Publisher | University of Surrey |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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