Motoristas De Caminh O

1247

Amphetamine use by truck drivers on highways of Sao Paulo
State: a risk for the occurrence of traffic accidents?

Juliana Takitane 1
Lucio Garcia de Oliveira 1
Ligia Góes Endo 1
Keziah Cristina Barbosa Gruber de Oliveira 2
Daniel Romero Muñoz 1
Mauricio Yonamine 3
Vilma Leyton 1

1

Departamento de Medicina
Legal, Ética Médica e
Medicina Social e do
Trabalho, Faculdade de
Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo. Av. Dr.
Arnaldo 455, Cerqueira
César. 01246-903 São
Paulo SP. [e-mail] 2
Departamento de Polícia
Rodoviária Federal.
3
Departamento de Análises
Clínicas e Toxicológicas da
Faculdade de Ciências
Farmacêuticas,
Universidade de São Paulo.

Abstract The use of amphetamines in Brazil is common among truck drivers, which may be an important factor in the occurrence of traffic accidents. This article seeks to estimate the prevalence of amphetamine use among truck drivers. Drivers
(N = 134) were stopped on two different highways in Sao Paulo state and they were asked to answer a questionnaire and provide a urine sample for toxicological analysis. All data were analyzed on Stata 8.0. All participants were males with low levels of schooling, whose mean age was 40.8 years. The presence of amphetamines was detected in 10.8% of all urine samples collected, being commonly justified in order to make truck drivers able to maintain their state of awareness. Amphetamine use was detected among truck drivers on Sao Paulo highways. The problem is that when the stimulant effects wear off, sleepiness due to sleep deprivation reduces concentration and good driver performance, making drivers vulnerable to traffic accidents and the related effects.
Key words Amphetamines, Traffic accidents, Drug abuse Resumo No Brasil, é comum o uso de anfetaminas por motoristas de caminhão, o que pode culminar na ocorrência de acidentes de trânsito. O objetivo deste artigo é estimar a prevalência do uso de anfetaminas entre caminhoneiros. Motoristas (N = 134) foram abordados