According to a new report from the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA), Drug-Impaired Driving: Marijuana and Opioids Raise Critical Issues for States, over half the drivers who are killed in car accidents have had marijuana, opioids, or a combination of both in their systems.
The report found that 44% of fatally-injured drivers with known results tested positive for the drugs. This is compared to 28% ten years ago.
In 2016, 38% of the drivers who had been killed in a crash had marijuana in their system, while 16% had opioids. 4% had tested for both.
“Drugs can impair, and drug-impaired drivers can crash. But it’s impossible to understand the full scope of the drugged driving problem because many drivers who are arrested or involved in crashes, even those who are killed, are not tested for drugs. Drivers who are drug-positive may not necessarily be impaired,” report author Dr. Jim Hedlund said. He is the former senior National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) official.
“Too many people operate under the false belief that marijuana or opioids don’t impair their ability to drive, or even that these drugs make them safer drivers,” remarked GHSA Executive Director Jonathan Adkins. “Busting this myth requires states to expand their impaired driving campaigns to include marijuana and opioids along with alcohol to show drivers that impairment is impairment, regardless of substance.”
