Pubdate: Tue, 16 Dec 2008 Source: Langley Advance (CN BC) Copyright: 2008 Lower Mainland Publishing Group Inc. Contact: http://www.langleyadvance.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1248 ALCOHOL AND DRUGS ARE A VOLATILE COCKTAIL BCAA's Traffic Safety Foundation offers some very real statistics. Impaired drivers cost the B.C. economy $1.6 billion annually. That startling statistic says little about personal injuries and death, too often the aftermath of impaired driving. Allan Lamb, executive director of the BC Automobile Association Traffic Safety Foundation, would like to get all drivers under the influence off the roads this holiday season. According to Lamb, carnage due to impaired driving is on the rise. "One in five people in B.C. admit to driving after drinking and a third of all motor vehicle fatalities are alcohol-related," he said. "Impaired drivers kill two people and injure 60 every week on B.C. roads. The holidays should be a joyful time, no question, but people need to be responsible, and understand it is not just their own life they are putting at risk." And alcohol isn't the only culprit, Lamb said. Prescription medications, over-the-counter drugs, and street drugs - including marijuana - all impair a person's ability to safely operate a vehicle. Combine any of them with alcohol and the results can be lethal, said Lamb, pointing especially to increasing use of pot. "Marijuana is the most commonly detected illegal substance in drug tests on drivers," Lamb said. "On its own, marijuana affects a person's concentration, attention-span, alertness, hand-eye coordination, time and distance perception, slows reaction time, and impacts a range of other driving-related skills that impair a driver's ability to respond to unexpected dangers on the road," he said. "In B.C., studies have shown that as many as 14 per cent of drivers involved in fatal motor vehicle crashes had marijuana in their systems." - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin