NHTSA: Drunk driving is down, but 16.3% of nighttime drivers are on drugs
Recently, the U.K. began to consider a law that would address drivers under the influence of drugs, and was looking at using a device that would act like a breathalyzer for narcotics instead of alcohol. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration might want to make the same recommendation after finding that while just 2.2% of drivers have a blood alcohol concentration of .08 or higher, a startling 16.3% of drivers were on some sort of narcotic.
Marijuana came in first among drug positives at 8.6%, with cocaine and over-the-counter meds following at 3.9% each. NHTSA plans further studies to find out how drugs affect driving impairment, since some narcotics aren't flushed from the body for weeks. If the research shows the effects are as bad as drunk driving, we can probably expect 'drugalyzers' to make an appearance at checkpoints soon.
You can read the full results of the study in the press release after the jump.
[Source: NHTSA | Photo credit: Web420.com]
PRESS RELEASE:
New Roadside Survey Shows Steady Decline in Alcohol Levels, while Driver Drug Use is Detected
A new roadside survey by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration confirms a continuing decline in the percentage of legally intoxicated drivers
In 1973, 7.5 percent of drivers had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 or higher. In the latest survey, that figure had fallen to 2.2 percent. A BAC of .08 or higher is now above the legal limit in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Previous roadside surveys conducted by NHTSA have measured only alcohol. But the 2007 survey used new screening techniques that detected other substances as well and in the future may help show the extent of drug impairment among drivers.
The survey found 16.3 percent of nighttime weekend drivers were drug positive. The survey focused on weekend nighttime drivers and found that the drugs used most commonly by drivers were: marijuana (8.6 percent); cocaine (3.9 percent); and over-the-counter and prescription drugs (3.9 percent).
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said he is concerned about the prevalence of drivers who use drugs, and we should continue to fight against all impaired drivers.
"I'm pleased to see that our battle against drunk driving is succeeding," said Secretary LaHood. "However, alcohol still kills 13,000 people a year on our roads and we must continue to be vigilant in our efforts to prevent drunk driving."
"This troubling data shows us, for the first time, the scope of drugged driving in America, and reinforces the need to reduce drug abuse," said Gil Kerlikowske, Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy. "Drugged driving, like drunk driving, is a matter of public safety and health. It puts us all at risk and must be prevented."
NHTSA is conducting further research to assess how drug traces correspond to driver impairment since some drugs can remain in the body for days or even weeks. Should further research indicate that drugs pose the same type of traffic safety risk as alcohol, NHTSA is committed to applying lessons learned in fighting the drunk driving problem.
Among the findings of the latest roadside survey are these:
• The percentage of male drivers with illegal BAC levels was 42 percent higher than the percentage of alcohol-impaired female drivers.
• Drivers were more likely to be illegally drunk during late nighttime hours (1 a.m. to 3 a.m.) than during daytime or early evening hours.
• Motorcycle riders were more than twice as likely as passenger vehicle drivers to be drunk (5.6 percent compared with 2.3 percent). Pickup truck drivers were the next most likely to have illegal BACs (3.3 percent).
The 2007 survey involved more than 300 roadside locations throughout the U.S. Click here to view the Research Note.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
danus 5:03PM (7/16/2009)
I'm gonna go ahead and say straight up that driving high actually makes me a better driver. I find I drive more cautiously and slower when under Mary Jane's sweet embrace.
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James 5:07PM (7/16/2009)
Ditto on that Danus.
I'd say...LEGALIZE & TAX MJ!
Bill 5:18PM (7/16/2009)
I also can't imagine someone who is all coked up is having a hard time paying attention to the road either...
Redline 5:26PM (7/16/2009)
@Bill, they are probably busy talking about themselves too much to notice anything up ahead.
MeiSooHaityu 5:47PM (7/16/2009)
It also slows your reaction time down, and your ability to react to a sudden situation.
Point is, don't drive under the influence of alcohol or drugs. (sorry if I sound like a public service announcement).
PJ 7:00PM (7/16/2009)
"LEGALIZE & TAX!!!"
Agree completely--the amount of money changing hands with no benefit to the state, for a substance that's as harmful as alcohol at worst, is idiotic. But, as with alcohol, legislate a limit to the amount a person can legally have in their system and operate a car, walk around in public, etc., and create an analogue to the "open container" law.
Seems common-sense to me.
PJ 7:00PM (7/16/2009)
BTW, you *don't* drive better stoned. You just get lazier and don't fidget at the wheel as much, so the car seems to track straighter.
montoym 6:55PM (7/16/2009)
Just because it would be legal doesn't mean you'd have a free ticket to drive while blazed. It would be like alcohol, you could still get a ticket for being over the legal limit. Problem is, determining what that limit is and how to test for it.
All legalizing it would do is decriminalize it so that you could legally do it. But, there would still be places and times you couldn't smoke. Just like there are places you can't smoke cigarettes and/or drink alcohol.
Harley 9:18PM (7/16/2009)
16.3 percent is pretty Hiiiiiiiigh!
J Who 5:02PM (7/16/2009)
Heard this on the radio yesterday morning. Interesting...
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Randy 12:36AM (7/17/2009)
Very interesting!
Especially because I know very few people that take drugs. And I'd never have imagined that many people were on something, on or off the road!
Interesting tid bit of info though. Here's a another one. 85% of ALL CRIME in the United States is drug related! A ---to--- Z
Pretty Sad............. To think that someone takes a drug to escape from reality and it likely results in a crime which make their reality even worse! Woah....
Tourian A5 10:55AM (7/17/2009)
In the USA it's WAY easier to consume drugs than alcohol. 16% of high drivers is alarming. The more people buying drugs, the higher the chance they will damage someone else. Besides, Mexico's huge drug problem could be alleviated if the US stopped consuming the product...
If you can see the length of the chain here, you'll realize doing drugs damages way, way, waaaay more people than just youself.
Jeff Banks 5:05PM (7/16/2009)
Ugh, here we go again. Articles like this tend to bring all the armchair pothead lobbyists out of the woodwork.
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Sheepszies 5:07PM (7/16/2009)
I agree that with Mari-Jane in the passenger seat i'm a much more cautious driver. I'll forget where i'm driving, and get lost, but def a safer driver.
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SumideXE 5:29PM (7/16/2009)
My dad says this too, but if you looked at his DMV record you'd disagree.
I would much rather have people driving stoned than drunk though. that's for sure.
...meth on the other hand.. is something to be scared of.
BoxerFanatic 5:25PM (7/16/2009)
You've got to be kidding me.
Driving under the influence is driving under the influence.
You also react slower, you also lose concentration, and any number of other things...
Thanks, but don't pilot a two-ton bullet around me when you are whacked out on ANYTHING.
If you are a safer driver under the influence, then you SUCK as a driver otherwise, and I can safely say in both conditions, not as good a driver as you should be, are expected to be, or as I am while I am in full control of my faculties.
And if you are around me, that is one more thing I have to try to second-guess. I ride a motorcycle, also, and I know about defensive driving, with a touch of healthy paranoia. Not drug-induced hallucinogenic paranoia.
You aren't driving well if you aren't in control of yourself. You definitely should not be in control of a machine moving at that speed.
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EXP Jawa 5:31PM (7/16/2009)
I'm with Boxer. I think you'd be hard-pressed to find real, credible, objective data that actually shows a high driver is a better driver. Anything else is merely one's (distorted) perception of how they're driving...
BoxerFanatic 5:33PM (7/16/2009)
Not to mention that at night, it isn't better, it's WORSE. Headlights, animal crossings, and all sorts of visibility issues come into play.
How about you just stay home, pot-heads. That is safer for everyone.
That is even ignoring the fact that not only is DUI illegal, the substance itself is in most cases.
I am a conservative, which is not completely disconnected from libertarian, but most people don't control themselves well enough to be expected to maintain their own responsibility when it comes to substances that affect state-of-mind.
There is a reason that DUI is illegal. People die due to others driving in an impaired state.
Kitko 6:36PM (7/16/2009)
I'm with Boxer too.
People would go the great lengths to justify their addictions.
On the bright side, we have quite many confessions of DUI driving here on the forum.
I urge law enforcement agencies to gather the IP address and registration data of those users and do whatever possible to get them off the road for a very long time.
jg 6:38PM (7/16/2009)
I agree that driving high is not safe. But.
I'm against checkpoints. In ths country, I'm going to be stopped while going about my business and then be made to prove I'm not committing a crime before I can freely go on my way again? Really?
This has to stop.