Madrid (EFE) the one that influences in a special way the greater presence of antidepressants and opioids.
These are some of the main conclusions of the annual report of the National Institute of Toxicology on the incidence of alcohol, drug and psychoactive drug use in traffic victims, presented this Tuesday and which includes the analyzes carried out on 1,214 deaths in road accidents, of them 854 drivers, 221 pedestrians and 137 companions.
The detection of psychotropic drugs increases by 2.9%
Of the total number of dead drivers who tested positive, 67.2% corresponded to alcohol, 38.6% to drugs, and 27.7% to psychotropic drugs.
The increase compared to 2021 is due to a 2.9% increase in the detection of psychotropic drugs among drivers compared to the previous year.
Most of those who tested positive for alcohol, 72.6%, showed a very high rate, equal to or greater than 1.2, five times more than the maximum allowed behind the wheel, and almost half of them are in the range of 25-45 years.
90.4% of the deceased drivers who tested positive were men and 9.6% women, which, according to the General Director of Traffic, Pere Navarro, has to make us reflect.
The most detected drug was cocaine (63.2%), followed by cannabis (49.4%). A high percentage had consumed two, three or more drugs, mainly alcohol and cocaine (46.1%), and alcohol and cannabis (31.4%).
The consumption of alcohol and psychotropic drugs in pedestrians is equalized
In addition, the proportion of pedestrians killed by being run over in traffic accidents with positive toxicological results has increased with respect to the year 2022.
Of 221 pedestrians run over in traffic accidents and subjected to autopsy, 94 (52.5%) tested positive, representing an increase of more than 4%.
The highest prevalence of pedestrians with positive results corresponded to alcohol, at 48.9%; followed by psychotropic drugs, in 48.9%, and drugs in 33%.
For the first time, the incidence of the consumption of alcohol and psychotropic drugs in deceased pedestrians has been equalized, highlighted the director of the Institute of Toxicology, Antonio Alonso, which he has attributed to the post-pandemic effects.
It is also noteworthy in the case of pedestrians who died in 2022, a 6.4% increase in the detection of psychotropic drugs compared to 2021.
Regarding the distribution by sex, 75.5% of the deceased pedestrians who tested positive were men and 22.3% women.
Toxicological profiles
According to the report, the profile of the deceased driver is mostly a man, with an average age of 45 years, who in 52% of cases tested positive for some substance (35% alcohol, 20% drugs and 15% psychotropic drugs. In a 36% combined two, three or four of them).
As for the pedestrian, it is also mainly a man, with an average age of 59 years, who tested positive in 42% of the cases and presents 31% of combined consumption of two or more substances.
Pere Navarro has stressed that memory is a photograph of the reality of what happens behind traffic accidents and has emphasized the increase in positives for psychotropic drugs.
The prosecutor of the Road Safety Coordinator Room, Luis del Río, has indicated that the data is related to the memory of the Prosecutor’s Office, which will soon be made public, and that they confirm an increase in crimes against road safety.
The entry More than half of the drivers killed in 2022 in Spain drank alcohol, drugs or psychotropic drugs was first published in EFE Noticias.