Background: There is growing interest in the part played by drugs in traffic accidents all over the world and in how to explore sufficient measures to decrease their rate. The aim of the study is to identify types of substance of abuse among drivers in Fayoum city.Aim of the work: To identify types of substance of abuse among drivers in Fayoum city.
Methods: The current study was done on 200 drivers in Fayoum city. The screened drugs were cannabis, benzodiazepine, morphine and tramadol. All samples are screened by dip stick to detect studied types of drugs at forensic lab.at Fayoum University and positive samples were confirmed by gas chromatography (G.C) at poisoning center, Ain shams university.
Results: The present study showed that 21.5% (n=43) of study group were drug abusers, 11.5% (n=23) were Tramadol abusers, 6.5% (n=13) of drivers were tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) abusers, and 3.5 % (n=7) THC and Tramadol abusers, on the other hand no one was morphine or benzodiazepine abusers. The present study demonstrated that among tramadol samples 34 samples were positive by dip stick, versus 30 samples were positive by G.C. The current study showed that among THC samples 22 samples were positive by dip stick versus 20 samples only were positive by G.C. Conclusion: about one fourth of the drivers were drug abusers.  Tramadol and THC were the commonly abused drugs while there were no abusers for morphine and benzodiazepine. Recommendations:
Drug screening should be added to all forms of basic toxicological screening especially to those involved in acts of violence and traffic accidents and for all drivers applying for license.Also using dip stick to check for drug abuse among drivers in check points being easy and rapid method with high accuracy