Science Media Centre

Drugs prescribed to treat anxiety, depression and insomnia may increase patients’ risk of being involved in motor vehicle accidents, according to a recent study. The Taiwanese research, published in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, compared medication use between individuals who had been in a motor vehicle accident and a group of age matched controls […]

Leading medical journal The Lancet has published a special series of articles focusing on adolescent health, including an international comparison of health and mortality data which highlights New Zealand’s poor ranking in youth suicide and death statistics. The 45th Session of the United Nations Commission on Population Development, which has an adolescent health theme takes […]

New research has found that drivers who consume cannabis within three hours of driving are nearly twice as likely to cause a vehicle collision as those who are not under the influence of drugs or alcohol. In a new study published in today in the journal BMJ, Canadian researchers reviewed nine studies with a total […]

A survey of frequent illicit drug users has identified price shifts in the black market and highlighted a disturbing attitude towards drugged-driving among users. The Illicit Drug Monitoring Survey (IDMS) was started in 2005 and annually surveys a group of heavy drug users on their use of drugs as well their perceptions of the cost, […]

A forensic toxicologist talks on Checkpoint about the problems inherent in saliva testing for driving under the influence of drugs. Calls are increasing for random testing for drivers, but saliva testing does not work for all drugs. The full piece can be heard here.

NZ inventors have developed a device which allows drivers to improve their performance and reduce their fuel usage. The device measures breaking and acceleration patterns, which can then be analysed. An excerpt: (read in full here) “The device relays a driver’s brake and accelerator movements to a computer, which analyses the data, which is used […]

A reduction in the legal blood alcohol limit is one proposal in the Ministry of Transport’s Safer Journeys 10-year road safety strategy document released last month. New Zealand’s current limit of 80 mg/100 ml (or 0.08 BAC) is among the highest in the world — most countries besides the UK and USA have opted for […]