Signs of altered psychomotor capacity and use of alcohol and other drugs among nightclub patrons who drive in the city of São Paulo, Brazil.

Objectives: To investigate the occurrence of signs of altered psychomotor capacity (SAPC) associated with the violation of the dry law at the exits of nightclubs in the city of São Paulo, Brazil.Methods: Data from drivers participating in the Balada com Ciência project were used. Alcohol dosages were measured with breathalyzer test. The use of other drugs was obtained by interviewees' self-report. SAPC (speech, walking, glazed eyes, and alcohol odor) were verified by the interviewers at the time of the interview and categorized as "no sign" or "at least one sign". All measurements were evaluated at the exit of the nightclubs. The population description considered the sample weighting. Logistic regression analysis evaluated the association between the occurrence of SAPC, alcohol and other drugs use, controlling for sociodemographic variables.Results: At nightclubs, the SAPC among drivers are about 8 times higher when the breath alcohol concentration is above 0.05 mg/L if compared with those who did not drink alcohol, and about 30 times higher when the alcohol concentration was ≥ 0.34 mg/L in exhaled air. This finding is not generally verified in the literature for those who report the use of drugs inside nightclubs, which is interesting, since 20.4% of the interviewed population reported using drugs in the places surveyed.Conclusion: This study suggests the potential of using the Perham (2007) physical test for alcohol intoxication in sobriety checkpoints at the exit of nightclubs. However, the verification of these signs is not enough for the identification of drug use by drivers.

Patterns of drinking and driving offenses among nightclub patrons in Brazil.

BACKGROUND: Brazil has a strict drinking and driving law known as the Brazilian "Dry Law". The aim of the present study was to investigate characteristics associated with the breaking of the Brazilian traffic law, on drinking and driving, at nightclub exit among a representative sample of nightclub patrons in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. METHODS: Portal survey realized with a two-stage cluster sampling survey design to collect data from 2422 patrons at the entrance and 1822 patrons at the exit of 31 nightclubs in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. Patrons' breath alcohol concentrations (BrACs) at the entrance and exit of the nightclubs were categorized according to the law as either a "traffic offense" or a "traffic offense and crime". Weighted multinomial logistic regression was used to analyze factors associated with different patterns of drinking and driving offenses. RESULTS: Of the subjects, 16.5% (n=369) were identified as driving patrons at the entrance and exit of the nightclubs. At entry, 80.1% of the patrons had a zero BrAC, 14.9% had a BrAC meeting the traffic offense criteria and 5.0% had a BrAC meeting the traffic offense and crime criteria. Women were less likely to have BrACs meeting the traffic offense criteria. At nightclub exit, 63.4% of patrons had maintained a zero BrAC, 24.7% had a BrAC that had increased and now met the traffic offense and crime criteria, and 11.9% had a decreased or stable BrAC. An increased BrAC was more frequently identified in patrons who were men, were single, and had used illicit drugs inside the nightclub. CONCLUSION: Despite the existence of a strict law regarding drinking and driving, a significant proportion of nightclub patrons in the city of São Paulo had violated this law, suggesting a perception of impunity and need for law enforcement.

Experiencia-modelo piloto de los talleres de seguridad vial, como alternativa a la pena privativa de libertad en los delitos contra la seguridad vial / Experiência-modelo-piloto das ofi cinas da segurança rodoviária, como uma alternativa para a pena privativa da liberdade em crimes contra a segurança rodoviária / Pilot experience-model of road security workshops as an alternative to incarceration in the case of crimes against road security

Algunos de los delitos contra la seguridad vial en España tienen asignada la pena de trabajos en benefi cio de la comunidad (TBC). Y en la práctica se han percibido problemas en su implementación, entre otros motivos por el aumento de la comisión de los delitos de tránsito y la escasez de puestos de trabajo social para poder llevar a cabo los trabajos comunitarios. Tanto la reciente modificación del Código Penal, como de la normativa reguladora de esta sanción, permite desarrollar los TBC por medio de la realización de talleres. En este artículo se presenta la experiencia-modelo piloto de los talleres de seguridad vial que dan contenido a la pena de TBC, como alternativa a la pena privativa de libertad, lo que resulta de especial interés al ser una de las primeras experiencias de estanaturaleza en España. Para ello se describen los talleres desarrollados, mensualmente, durante 2010, a saber: su primer año de funcionamiento en Gipuzkoa (España), detallando su estructura, dinámica y tareas –tanto formativas como de utilidad pública– que realizaron los penados. La implementación de estos talleres ha paliado las defi ciencias percibidas en la aplicación de la pena de TBC, dotándola de contenido, y superando así las críticas a las que esta sanción se había visto expuesta. Los talleres de seguridad vial responden de forma efectiva al papel preventivo que se le ha otorgado a este tipo de sanciones en el ámbito de la seguridad vial

For some of the offenses against road security in Spain, the current punishment is the so-called “trabajos en benefi cio de la comunidad” –TBC– (community benefi t work). But, in practice, implementation problems have been found and particularly, among others, by the increasing commission of traffic offenses and the lack of enough social work posts or vacancies required to perform these community tasks. Both the recent amendment of the Criminal Code and the regulatory legislation help develop the “TBCs” by means of road security workshops described in this article. They seem to give a purpose to this alternative to custodial sentences or detention orders and have become of utmost interest as one of the fi rst experiences of this nature in Spain. The workshops that were developed on a monthly basis during 2010 are described, from their fi rst year of experience in Guipuzcoa (in the Basque autonomous Community) by detailing their structure, dynamics and tasks of both training and public interest nature carried out by the inmates. The implementation of these workshops has mitigated the differences perceived in the application of the TBC punishment by providing it with a purpose and overcoming the criticism to which it had been exposed. These workshops have responded in an efficient matter to the preventive role they have been attributed in terms of road security

Alguns dos crimes contra a segurança rodoviária na Espanha recebem pena de trabalho em benefício da Comunidade (TBC). E na prática, os problemas são percebidos em sua implementação, nomeadamente pelo aumento na comissão de crimes de trânsito e a falta de postos de trabalho social para realizar o trabalho de comunidade. Tanto a recente alteração do Código penal, como das normas que regem este castigo, permite desenvolver o TBC através de ofi cinas. Este artigo apresenta a experiência-modelo-piloto de workshops de segurança rodoviária que dão conteúdo à pena do TBC, como uma alternativa para a pena privativa da liberdade, que é de especial interesse por ser uma das primeiras experiências desta natureza em Espanha. Este artigo descreve os workshops desenvolvidos, mensalmente, durante o ano de 2010, ou seja: seu primeiro ano de operação na província de Guipúzcoa (Espanha), detalhando a sua estrutura, dinâmica e tarefas - tanto formativas como de utilidade pública - que fi zeram os condenados. A implementação destes workshops tem mitigado as defi ciências percebidas na aplicação da pena de TBC, dando-lhe o conteúdo e assim superar as críticas a que havia sido exposta esta penalidade. Os workshops da segurança rodoviária respondem efi cazmente à função preventiva que tem sido dada a este tipo de sanções no domínio da segurança rodoviária