Driving under the influence of drugs or drugged driving refers to operating a vehicle after consuming certain drugs, posing a significant risk to public safety. While international research on drugged driving is extensive, domestic studies are lacking. This paper aims to bridge this gap by reviewing international research progress and summarizing specific research directions and achievements to guide domestic research.
To thoroughly assess the research progress on drugged driving, data was collected from the Web of Science Core Collection Database. The search used keywords such as "drug (medicine) and drive (driving)", limiting the research direction to "transportation" and publication period from "1999 to 2023". Totally 264 research articles were gathered. The mapping knowledge domain (MKD) method was used to analyze the annual distribution, source publications, keyword co-occurrence, and other relevant literature aspects, providing specific insights into progress in drugged driving research.
The results show that international research on drugged driving has been extensive and diverse since the 1990s. Qualitative and quantitative studies have explored various aspects of the issue, including the types of drugs affecting drivers, their impact on driving abilities, the risks associated with drugged driving, the prevalence of drugged, driver attitudes and perceptions, drug detection technologies, and relevant legislation. To promote governance and prevent drugged driving incidents in China, several projects need attention: classifying drugs that impair driving and understanding their pharmacological effects, developing drug detection technologies, conducting epidemiological investigations on the prevalence of drugged driving among drivers, and carrying out empirical analysis and legislative research on drugged driving cases.
This paper employs structured network analysis methods to comprehensively review international research achievements in drugged driving during the past 30 years. The analysis of annual publication distribution, source publications, and keyword co-occurrence supplements existing literature reviews. This study offers valuable guidance for future research and governance strategies related to drugged driving in the domestic domain.