Pubdate: Sat, 21 Feb 2015
Source: Day, The (New London,CT)
Copyright: 2015 The Day Publishing Co.
Contact:  http://www.theday.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/293
Author: Day Marketing

NHTSA STUDIES: DRUNKEN DRIVING FALLS; DRUGGED DRIVING ON THE RISE

The number of drunken drivers observed in voluntary roadside surveys 
has fallen drastically while the share of those with drugs in their 
system has gone up, according to findings recently released by the 
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The studies noted that marijuana is the most prevalent drug observed 
in survey participants and that drivers under the influence of this 
drug are more likely to be involved in an accident. However, the 
NHTSA could not conclusively say whether the higher crash rate was a 
result of marijuana's effects or other factors.

The findings were a result of two studies administered by the NHTSA. 
One, the National Roadside Survey, alerted drivers to a voluntary 
survey and collected information on their blood alcohol content and 
the presence of any drugs in their system. The other study looked at 
the effect of alcohol and drugs on crash risk.

The National Roadside Survey, first conducted in 1973, was repeated 
for the fifth time between 2013 and 2014. A total of 300 roadside 
checkpoints were set up across the nation, letting drivers know about 
the opportunity to pull over and take an anonymous paid survey. 
Participants were compensated up to $60 for their time.

Researchers at the checkpoints conducted sobriety tests on 
participating drivers. Eighty-five percent chose to take a breath 
test, while 70 percent provided a saliva sample and 40 percent 
provided a blood sample.

The crash risk study took place over a 20-month period in Virginia 
Beach, Virginia, and ended in 2012. More than 3,000 drivers involved 
in a crash agreed to provide blood and saliva samples to researchers. 
For a control, the study also gathered data from two volunteer 
drivers selected at random on the same day of the week, time of day, 
location, and direction of travel as the accident.

Two-thirds of the drivers in this study were involved in accidents 
that caused property damage only, while one-third were involved in 
accidents with injuries. Less than 1 percent of the drivers included 
in the study were involved in fatal accidents.

Drivers who participated in the latest National Roadside Survey were 
much less likely to have alcohol in their system than in other 
surveys. During weekend nighttime hours, 8.3 percent of drivers 
participating in the survey had a positive blood-alcohol level, and 
about 1.5 percent were above the legal limit of .08.

This proportion of drivers with a detectable alcohol level was a 30 
percent drop from the last survey, conducted in 2007. There was also 
an 80 percent decline of the percentage of drivers with a 
blood-alcohol level of .08 or higher since the first survey in 1973.

The NHTSA says the estimates of alcohol prevalence in the most recent 
survey were down from 2007 estimates in each category: low blood 
alcohol levels of .005 to .049, medium levels of .05 to .079, and 
high levels of .08 or higher. However, only the decline in medium 
levels was considered statistically significant.

The legal limit for driving with alcohol in one's system in the 
United States has been cut nearly in half since this first survey. 
Indiana passed the nation's first blood alcohol limit in 1939, 
setting it at .15. Under pressure from groups such as Mothers Against 
Drunk Driving, states began lowering their blood-alcohol limit to .10 
in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The limit was later lowered still 
further to .08, with Delaware becoming the last state to accept this 
standard in 2004.

The crash risk study determined that drivers with a blood-alcohol 
level of .08 were four times as likely to get into an accident as a 
sober driver. Drivers at the once legal level of .15 were 12 times as 
likely to get into an accident.

During the National Roadside Survey, drivers found to be above the 
legal blood-alcohol level were offered other means to get home. The 
NHTSA claims that of the more than 30,000 survey participants 
identified as illegally driving under the influence of alcohol over 
the years, none have opted to continue driving and none have been arrested.

"America made drunk driving a national issue and while there is no 
victory as long as a single American dies in an alcohol-related 
crash, a one-third reduction in alcohol use over just seven years 
shows how a focused effort and cooperation among the federal 
government, states and communities, law enforcement, safety advocates 
and industry can make an enormous difference," said NHTSA 
Administrator Mark Rosekind. "At the same time, the latest Roadside 
Survey raises significant questions about drug use and highway 
safety. The rising prevalence of marijuana and other drugs is a 
challenge to everyone who is dedicated to saving lives and reducing crashes."

The National Roadside Survey first began testing participating 
drivers for illegal drugs, prescription drugs, and over the counter 
drugs in 2007. Compared to this initial data, the number of drivers 
with drugs in their system increased in the most recent survey.

Among weekend nighttime drivers, the share of drivers with at least 
one drug in their system increased from 16.3 percent in 2007 to 20 
percent in 2014. More than 15.2 percent of drivers tested positive 
for at least one illegal drug, a 12 percent increase from 2007. A 
total of 7.3 percent of drivers tested positive for a prescription 
drug or over the counter medication that could affect driving.

Marijuana was the most likely drug to be found in the system of 
participating drivers, with 47 percent more motorists testing 
positive for this drug in the 2014 survey than in 2007. A total of 
12.6 percent of drivers in the most recent survey tested positive for 
THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, an increase from the 8.6 
percent of participants testing positive for marijuana in 2007.

Marijuana was also the only category of drug to reach statistically 
significant levels in the crash risk analysis. Drivers who tested 
positive for THC were over-represented among those involved in an 
accident, with the NHTSA concluding that drivers who used marijuana 
were 25 percent more likely to get into an accident than sober drivers.

However, the NHTSA could not conclusively say whether marijuana use 
led to the accident. Researchers note that marijuana users are more 
likely to be young men, whose driving behaviors already make them 
statistically more likely to be involved in an accident. The study 
was also limited by factors such as the inability to control for 
factors that could affect how much THC impairs a driver.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom