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Articles

Baseline breath alcohol concentration in Nigerian commercial drivers and motorcyclists

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Pages 49-57 | Received 10 Aug 2016, Accepted 20 Jun 2017, Published online: 07 Sep 2017
 

ABSTRACT

Objective: We sought to determine breath alcohol concentration (BrAC) in a sample of consenting Nigerian commercial drivers and motorcyclists and relate values obtained to some social parameters and practices.

Method: A cross-sectional study of randomly selected, consenting commercial drivers, and motorcyclists in two Nigerian cities was undertaken. We obtained data on subjects’ sociodemographics, driving/riding related experiences and practices with the aid of a pretested structured questionnaire. We determined their BrAC and analyzed data using SPSS version 17.0. Statistical significance was inferred at p ≤ 0.05.

Result: One hundred ninety respondents aged 20–65 years mean (SD) 40 (11.28) were studied. They were 112 (58.9%) drivers, 78 (41.1%) motorcyclists, and predominantly males (98.9%). A significant proportion of motorcyclists were aged <40 years and most drivers >40 years (p < 0.001). Respondents’ educational attainment did not differ significantly with age groups and status; however, 6.8% had no formal education.

Alcohol use decreased significantly with increasing years of experience (p < 0.001). Note that 68.9% of respondents tested positive with the breathalyzer with blood alcohol concentration (BAC) levels 0.01–1.8 mg/ml with mean (SD) at 0.16 (0.32) mg/ml. In total, 51.1% of respondents had BAC values ≥0.1% while 7.9% had BAC ≥0.5 mg/ml. A total of 92.6% admitted use of various measures to enhance their performances and overcome fatigue.

Conclusion: The drink driving/riding law in Nigeria needs to be revised to suit prevailing circumstance and enforced.

Acknowledgments

The authors are indebted to Drs Ojo and Alawode for their immense contribution to the data collection process.

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