{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,18]],"date-time":"2026-08-18T05:11:39Z","timestamp":1787029899813,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":39,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,19]],"date-time":"2025-07-19T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1752883200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Toxics"],"abstract":"<jats:p>In Italy, the law on road homicide (Law no. 41\/2016) introduced specific provisions for drivers who cause severe injuries or death to a person due to the violation of the Highway Code. The use of alcohol or drugs while driving constitutes an aggravating circumstance of the offence and provides for a tightening of penalties. Our study aims to report on the analysis performed on blood samples collected between January 2018 and December 2024 from drivers convicted of road homicide and who tested positive for alcohol and\/or drugs. The majority of the involved subjects were males belonging to the 18\u201330 and 41\u201350 age groups. Alcohol, cocaine and cannabinoids were the most detected substances and the most frequent polydrug combination was alcohol and cocaine. We also investigated other influencing factors in road traffic accidents as the day of the week and the time of the day in which fatal road traffic accident occurred, and the time elapsed between the road accident and the collection of biological samples. Our data, in line with the international scenario, strongly support that, in addition to the tightening of penalties, raising awareness plays a key role in preventing alcohol- and drug-related traffic accidents by increasing risk perception and encouraging safer driving behaviors.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/toxics13070607","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,21]],"date-time":"2025-07-21T09:33:53Z","timestamp":1753090433000},"page":"607","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["The Crime of Vehicular Homicide in Italy: Trends in Alcohol and Drug Use in Fatal Road Accidents in Lazio Region from 2018 to 2024"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2514-5471","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Francesca","family":"Vernich","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Forensic Toxicology, Section of Legal Medicine, Social Security and Forensic Toxicology, Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, University of Rome \u201cTor Vergata\u201d, Via Montpellier 1, 00133 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Leonardo","family":"Romani","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Forensic Toxicology, Section of Legal Medicine, Social Security and Forensic Toxicology, Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, University of Rome \u201cTor Vergata\u201d, Via Montpellier 1, 00133 Rome, Italy"},{"name":"PhD School in Medical-Surgical Applied Sciences, University of Rome \u201cTor Vergata\u201d, Via Montpellier 1, 00133 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7098-7830","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Federico","family":"Mineo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Forensic Toxicology, Section of Legal Medicine, Social Security and Forensic Toxicology, Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, University of Rome \u201cTor Vergata\u201d, Via Montpellier 1, 00133 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Giulio","family":"Mannocchi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Forensic Toxicology, Section of Legal Medicine, Social Security and Forensic Toxicology, Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, University of Rome \u201cTor Vergata\u201d, Via Montpellier 1, 00133 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lucrezia","family":"Stefani","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Forensic Toxicology, Section of Legal Medicine, Social Security and Forensic Toxicology, Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, University of Rome \u201cTor Vergata\u201d, Via Montpellier 1, 00133 Rome, Italy"},{"name":"PhD School in Medical-Surgical Applied Sciences, University of Rome \u201cTor Vergata\u201d, Via Montpellier 1, 00133 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3169-2906","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Margherita","family":"Pallocci","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, Link Campus University, Via del Casale di S. Pio V 44, 00165 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Luigi Tonino","family":"Marsella","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Forensic Toxicology, Section of Legal Medicine, Social Security and Forensic Toxicology, Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, University of Rome \u201cTor Vergata\u201d, Via Montpellier 1, 00133 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9434-2604","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Michele","family":"Treglia","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Forensic Toxicology, Section of Legal Medicine, Social Security and Forensic Toxicology, Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, University of Rome \u201cTor Vergata\u201d, Via Montpellier 1, 00133 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0561-3442","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Roberta","family":"Tittarelli","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Forensic Toxicology, Section of Legal Medicine, Social Security and Forensic Toxicology, Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, University of Rome \u201cTor Vergata\u201d, Via Montpellier 1, 00133 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,19]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"World Health Organization (2024, December 08). 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