Pubdate: Sat, 07 Feb 2015
Source: Honolulu Star-Advertiser (HI)
Copyright: 2015 Associated Press
Contact: 
http://www.staradvertiser.com/info/Star-Advertiser_Letter_to_the_Editor.html
Website: http://www.staradvertiser.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/5154

DRUG-USING DRIVERS ON RISE, SURVEY FINDS

The number of drivers on the road with alcohol in their systems has 
declined by nearly one-third since 2007, but there has been a big 
increase in drivers using marijuana and other illegal drugs, a 
government report released Friday found.

The report by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said 
the share of drivers who test positive for alcohol has declined by 
more than three-quarters since the agency first began conducting 
roadside surveys in 1973.

But the latest survey, conducted in 2013 and 2014, also found that 22 
percent of drivers tested positive for at least one drug that could 
affect safety. That includes illegal drugs as well as prescription 
and over-thecounter medications.

The anonymous surveys have been conducted five times in the past 40 
years. They gather data at dozens of locations across the country 
from drivers who agree to participate.

About 8 percent of drivers during weekend nighttime hours were found 
to have some alcohol in their system, and 1.5 percent were found with 
.08 percent or higher breath alcohol content - the legal limit in 
every state. Drivers with any alcohol in their systems and drivers 
testing greater than .08 were both down by about 30 percent from the 
previous survey in 2007.

At the same time, more than 15 percent of drivers tested positive for 
at least one illegal drug, up from 12 percent in 2007. The number of 
drivers with marijuana in their systems grew from 8.6 percent in 2007 
to 12.6 percent in 2014.

A second survey, the largest of its kind, assessed the comparative 
risk of drunken and drugged driving. The study was conducted in 
Virginia Beach, Va., in a 20-month period and involved collection of 
data from more than 3,000 drivers involved in a crash, and more than 
6,000 crash-free drivers for comparison.

That survey found that marijuana users are more likely to be involved 
in accidents but that the increased risk may be due in part because 
marijuana users are more likely to be part of demographic groups at 
higher risk of crashes generally.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom