Incidence of alcohol and drugs in fatally injured car drivers in Norway.

Blood samples from 159 fatally injured drivers from 1989 and 1990, corresponding to 57% of all fatally injured drivers in Norway during this period, were analysed for alcohol and psychoactive drugs. Alcohol was found in 28.3% of the drivers, 27.0% above the legal limit of 0.05%. Drugs were found in 16.4% of the drivers; benzodiazepines and tetrahydrocannabinol were the drugs most frequently found. Among 79 drivers fatally injured in single-vehicle accidents, 41.8% were positive for alcohol and 21.5% were positive for drugs.