Post-pandemic drug and alcohol-related road accidents analysis in Central Italy area

Aim: In recent years an increase in deaths and serious injuries caused by driving under the influence of psychoactive drugs was recorded on Europe’s roads. Alcohol is the most commonly used psychoactive substance worldwide, whereas, among illicit substances, cannabis is the most used, being also the most common substance found in injured drivers in Europe, showing a higher use prevalence in young people. In this context, the aim of our retrospective study was to analyze drivers who accessed the emergency room of hospitals in Latina area between 2020 and 2022 following a road accident, for which the police requested toxicological tests to check possible driving under the influence of alcohol and/or illicit substances. Subject and methods: We enrolled 1956 subjects, 1534 males and 422 females; blood and urine samples were analyzed using screening enzyme immunoassay. Results: We reported 564 positive patients. Drivers most frequently tested positive for alcohol 43.6%, cannabinoids 27.7% and cocaine 23.6%. Polydrug users represented 31% of the positive cases and 8.9% of the study population. Age group analysis showed that the highest number of positives was found among 21–30 year olds (33%). Furthermore, among the younger generation (< 21 years old) the use of cannabinoids was prevalent. Conclusion: This retrospective study represented a snapshot of which substances were mainly abused by the driver population examined and highlighted how the problem concerns mainly the younger generation, opening up questions about interventions to be implemented in order to limit the phenomenon, acting on the socio-cultural aspects that fuel it.