Female drivers suspected for drunken or drugged driving

The National Institute of Forensic Toxicology in Oslo receives blood and urine samples from all Norwegian drivers apprehended on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. In this study, sex differences in use of alcohol and drugs among Norwegian drunken and drugged drivers were presented. In 1992 and 1993, the institute received samples from 11970 and 5642 suspected drunken and drugged drivers respectively. Women were underrepresented among both suspected drunken (7.6%) and drugged (10.9%) drivers. There were not observed dramatic gender differences in frequency and finding of drugs. The most frequent drugs in addition to alcohol were tetrahydrocannabinol, benzodiazepines and amphetamine. The data suggest that benzodiazepines are found relatively more often in blood from female than from male drugged drivers. Lower proportion of women with blood ethanol concentration over the legal limit was observed.