Pubdate: Wed, 03 Sep 2014
Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)
Copyright: 2014 Associated Press
Contact: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/submissions/#1
Website: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/388
Page: A8
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?224 (Cannabis and Driving)

POT'S HAZY CONTRIBUTION TO HIGHWAY DEATHS

WASHINGTON (AP) - New York teenager Joseph Beer smoked marijuana, 
climbed into a Subaru Impreza with four friends and drove more than 
100 mph before losing control. The car crashed into trees with such 
force that the vehicle split in half, killing his friends. Frank 
Eltman / Associated Press 2012 The Subaru Impreza driven by Joseph 
Beer is loaded onto a truck in West Hempstead, N.Y., after a fatal accident.

Beer, who was 17 in October 2012 when the crash occurred, pleaded 
guilty to aggravated vehicular homicide and was sentenced last week 
to 5 years to 15 years in prison.

As states liberalize their marijuana laws, public officials and 
safety advocates worry there will be more drivers high on pot and a 
big increase in traffic deaths. It's not clear, though, whether those 
concerns are merited. Researchers are divided on the question. A 
prosecutor blamed the Beer crash on "speed and weed," but a jury that 
heard expert testimony on marijuana's effects at his trial deadlocked 
on a homicide charge and other felonies related to whether the 
teenager was impaired by marijuana. Beer was convicted of 
manslaughter and reckless driving charges.

Studies of marijuana's effects show that the drug can slow 
decision-making, decrease peripheral vision and impede multitasking, 
all of which are important driving skills. But unlike with alcohol, 
drivers high on pot tend to be aware that they are impaired and try 
to compensate by driving slowly, avoiding risky actions such as 
passing other cars, and allowing extra room between vehicles.

On the other hand, combining marijuana with alcohol appears to 
eliminate the pot smoker's exaggerated caution and to increase 
driving impairment beyond the effects of either substance alone.

"We see the legalization of marijuana in Colorado and Washington as a 
wake-up call for all of us in highway safety," said Jonathan Adkins, 
executive director of the Governors Highway Safety Association, which 
represents state highway safety offices. "We don't know enough about 
the scope of marijuana-impaired driving to call it a big or small 
problem. But anytime a driver has their ability impaired, it is a problem."
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