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. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom