Is Drugged Driving Really Bad?

[Police Officer]

Of course it is. It is driving while impaired. But I am interested in DF members opinions. Everyone knows that drunk driving is bad, but do you guys think that drugged driving is bad? Here are some stats, albeit old, from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration. I'll be trying to look for more up to date info.

• Research shows that marijuana is harmful to the brain, heart, lungs, and immune system. It limits learning, memory, perception, judgment, and complex motor skills like those needed to drive a vehicle.
• People under the influence of cocaine become easily confused and lose the ability to concentrate or to think clearly for any length of time.
• Alcohol and other drugs create a serious highway safety problem among the general driving population. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that drugs are used by approximately 10 to 22 percent of drivers involved in crashes, often in combination with alcohol.
• In a 1990-91 NHTSA study of 1,882 fatally injured drivers from 7 states, alcohol was found in 51.5 percent of the drivers, and other drugs were found in 17.8 percent of the drivers.
• Studies of drivers injured in crashes or cited for traffic violations also show that many of those drivers have used drugs. In an ongoing NHTSA study of non-fatally injured drivers in Rochester, New York, 12 percent of all drivers tested positive for drugs other than alcohol (43 of 360 cases), and 23.5 percent of drivers less than 21 years old tested positive for drugs other than alcohol (4 of 17 cases). Studies of drivers taken for medical treatment have shown positive drug rates ranging from below 10 percent to as high as 30 to 40 percent. Studies of drug incidence among drivers arrested for motor vehicle offenses have found drugs in 15 to 50 percent of drivers. The higher rates typically are more prevalent among drivers who have been arrested for impaired or reckless driving but who were not impaired by alcohol, as shown by low blood alcohol concentration (BAC) levels.