Below is excerpted from p80 of just released study "alcohol and other drug use in NZ drivers 2004-9" from Police/ESR. Why the bike/train crashes when under no influence...???????
174 of the 1,046 deceased drivers (17%) were riding motorbikes. Again this seems
high in relation to the numbers of motorbikes and cars using the roads. Single vehicle
crashes accounted for 62 of the deceased motorcyclists. For 60 of these crashes the
motorcyclist was determined to be at fault. In the two cases where the rider was not at
fault, one was found too much later to determine if there were other influences
involved and the other was hit by a tree branch. There were 112 crashes in which the
motorcyclist struck another vehicle. 66 of these crashes (59%) were determined to be
the fault of the motorcyclist.
The crashes analysed in this study include 560 multiple vehicle crashes in which 586
drivers died. The other 460 drivers were killed in single vehicle crashes. In 18 of the
560 multiple vehicle crashes (3%) the ‘other’ vehicle, the vehicle not being driven by
the deceased, was a train.
In 175 of the 560 multiple vehicle crashes (31%) the ‘other’ vehicle was a truck. This
seems high in relation to the observed relative numbers of trucks and cars on the road.
In 29 of these crashes the surviving truck driver was determined to be at fault for the
crash, using the Responsibility Analysis Guidelines. It therefore follows that in 146
crashes, the deceased driver accidently placed themself in the path of a truck, a
vehicle with poor ability to manoeuvre or stop quickly.
In 52 of the 1,020 crashes (5%) the deceased was driving a truck. 28 of these crashes
were single vehicle crashes and 24 were multiple vehicle crashes. Following the
Responsibility Analysis Guidelines the truck driver was found to be at fault in 25 of
the 28 single vehicle crashes. In the remaining three crashes, one situation was
unclear (it may have been driving or vehicle conditions that influenced the crash), one
driver was trying to avoid a pedestrian and the other was driving a truck that had
brake failure. For the 24 multiple vehicle crashes where the truck driver died, 12 were
determined to be at fault for the crash.
Alcohol and drug
There were 174 fatal crashes in which the deceased was riding a motorbike, 17% of
all the crashes considered in this study. 55% of the motorbike riders (95 of 174) had
no alcohol or other drugs in their blood. This is slightly higher than the proportion of
all unimpaired drivers in this study (Table 49). In the 18 fatal crashes involving trains,
only three had used a possibly impairing drug. (p101)
The proportion of those on motorbikes who had used cannabis and alcohol together or
some other combination of drugs, was not greatly different from the proportion for all
drivers. Alcohol was not used as much by the motorbike riders (8%), compared with
alcohol use by all of the deceased drivers (13%). Cannabis was used more often by
those riding motorbikes (13% compared with 9.2% for all drivers in this study who
used only cannabis). The ratio of all crashes to motorbike crashes is 6: 1.
Table 50 gives the number of crashes involving motorbikes and trains where the
drivers have used drugs other than alcohol or cannabis. The ratio for opioid use
crashes is 4.8: 1 indicating a higher proportion of opioid use in motorbike riders.
A similar ratio (4.9: 1) was obtained for motorbike riders using stimulants. The ratio for
crashes involving sedative use was 7.8: 1, indicating a lower proportion of sedative
use (Table 50).
Summary
The significance of the involvement of drug use in relation to fatal crashes in the
different Police districts will need a more detailed analysis than is possible with the
data available in this study.
If the time of day of the crash, or the type of road on which a crash occurs, are
considered, there is a variation in the proportion of drivers using alcohol and other
drugs compared with all deceased drivers. Alcohol use, with or without other drugs is
more prevalent at night time (six pm to six am). Cannabis use alone and use of other
potentially impairing drugs is found in a higher proportion of drivers killed during day
time (six am to six pm). Alcohol use only is found in a higher proportion of drivers
killed on state highways and other rural roads.
Drug use other than alcohol or cannabis is minimal.
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Originally Posted by Marmoot
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