NHTSA study: Driving stoned is much safer than driving drunk

[Garion_55]

Source: http://www.kirotv.com/

HOME > NEWS > NATIONAL
Posted: 12:34 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2015


By Josh Miranda


A new study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration shows that drivers who smoke weed before getting behind the wheel are no more likely to crash than sober drivers.

This does hold true only after adjusting for age, gender and race.

It also means that high drivers have a significantly lower crash risk than drunk drivers.

Overall alcohol use also increases the possibility of a wreck by 6.75 times.

You can see the NHTSA's full report here.

http://www.nhtsa.gov/staticfiles/nti/pdf/812117-Drug_and_Alcohol_Crash_Risk.pdf

Read more: http://www.kirotv.com/news/news/national/nhtsa-driving-stoned-much-safer-driving-drunk/nj8BR/?icmp=cmgcontent_internallink_relatedcontent_2014_partners1

[arcane1]

1. In other news...

[Garion_55]

2. more

The chart above tells the story. For marijuana, and for a number of other legal and illegal drugs including antidepressants, painkillers, stimulants and the like, there is no statistically significant change in the risk of a crash associated with using that drug prior to driving. But overall alcohol use, measured at a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) threshold of 0.05 or above, increases your odds of a wreck nearly seven-fold.

The study's findings underscore an important point: that the measurable presence of THC (marijuana's primary active ingredient) in a person's system doesn't correlate with impairment in the same way that blood alcohol concentration does. The NHTSA doesn't mince words: "At the current time, specific drug concentration levels cannot be reliably equated with a specific degree of driver impairment."

[ChosenUnWisely]

11. I have driven with all that in my system at once before and never had and accident or ticket!

I do not recommend it, it is not for every one, leave it to the professionals!

[BigDemVoter]

3. As an occasional user. . .

I wouldn't ever want to drive after smoking. It's interesting that it doesn't impair the driver AS MUCH, but still I know I'm impaired after smoking, and I wouldn't trust myself to drive safely and to protect others from my own behavior. I prefer to go for a walk or stay home and chill!

[Garion_55]

4. i think its more a mental impairment.

your brain is saying one thing but your body is saying another. experienced users probably have a better grasp on meshing the two.


booze is a physical impairment in that after a certain point the human body just cant function. doesnt matter who you are you are going to get trashed.

[rhett o rick]

8. Like Cheech? nm

[Garion_55]

10. i think we're parked

[rhett o rick]

20. I was thinking about when the cop pulled him over for going 5 mph. nm

[leftyladyfrommo]

23. I laugh until i"m sick every time I see that

part of the movie.

[former9thward]

6. "no more likely to crash than sober drivers. "

It says the exact opposite.

The studies that used self-reporting produced increased crash risk
estimates that ranged from 1.7 to 7.16 times as a result of
marijuana use by drivers. The two studies that used urine
to determine marijuana use resulted in risk estimates of
0.85 to 3.43 times, while the two studies using blood analysis
had risk estimates of 2.10 and 2.11 times. The overall
pooled risk estimate was 2.66 times.

[Trillo]

12. No significant increase in crash risk once adjusted for age, gender, ethnicity and alcohol levels,

Summary and Discussion
This study of crash risk found a statistically significant
increase in unadjusted crash risk for drivers who tested
positive for use of illegal drugs (1.21 times), and THC
specifically (1.25 times). However, analyses incorporating
adjustments for age, gender, ethnicity, and alcohol concen-
tration level did not show a significant increase in levels of
crash risk associated with the presence of drugs. This find-
ing indicates that these other variables (age, gender ethnic-
ity and alcohol use) were highly correlated with drug use
and account for much of the increased risk associated with
the use of illegal drugs and with THC.

[happyslug]

14. I.e. those abusing drugs were also abusing Alcohol so what else is new?

n/t

[former9thward]

15. The study is garbage because much of it is self reporting.

Self reporting is meaningless. Also many drug users have other drugs in them (as well as alcohol ) and there is no way of telling what that contributes to crashes.

[billhicks76]

7. DUH!

Last edited Thu Feb 12, 2015, 10:00 AM - Edit history (1)

It makes you drive slower and more carefully because your senses are enhanced not dulled. People need to look at facts not presuppositions. Law enforcement wants to use cannabis as another way into your car and your wallet. Don't let them. The science is clear.

[maddiemom]

16. That's what I always thought.

[LuvNewcastle]

19. Thank you!

Law enforcement are always looking for another way to control people and they're always looking for ways to tack on fines. The people who own law enforcement give them a bone and a pat on the head when they get more money. Also, the more people they arrest, the more justified their positions appear. It won't end until everyone in the country is either a prisoner or a guard.

[navarth]

21. +1000.

[christx30]

9. I support legalization of marijuana.

That said, I would never use it myself, and I would never want to ride in a vehicle driven by someone under the influence.
But any of you want a designated driver, my Dr. Pepper and I are here for you.

[happyslug]

13. That is NOT what the report actually report

Marijuana is the most frequently detected drug (other than alcohol) in crash-involved drivers as well as the general driving population (Terhune, 1982; Terhune et al., 1992;

Lacey et al., 2009; Walsh et al., 2005). There is evidence that marijuana use impairs psychomotor skills, divided attention, lane tracking, and cognitive functions (Robbe et al., 1993; Moskowitz, 1995; Hartman and Huestis, 2013). However, its role in contributing to the occurrence of crashes remains less clear. Many studies, using a variety of methods have attempted to estimate the risk of driving after use of marijuana (Li et al., 2012; Asbridge et al., 2012). The methods have included experimental studies, observational studies, and epidemiological studies. While useful in identifying how marijuana affects the performance of driving tasks, experimental and observational studies do not lend themselves to predicting real world crash risk

It is unclear what contribution to accident marijuana does, but it is the second highest drug, second to Alcohol, in accident (and in the General Population).

They also report:

As was described above, there was no difference in crash risk for marijuana (THC)-positive drivers who were also positive for alcohol than for marijuana (THC)-positive drivers with no alcohol, beyond the risk attributable to alcohol.

Thus marijuana alone has the same accident level as someone using marijuana AND Alcohol. I suspect this is where the above comment on "No affect" Comes from. People who use marijuana ONLY when compared to people you used BOTH marijuana and Alcohol had the same accident rate.

Further on in the Study they report the percentage of drivers in accidents involving drugs or alcohol:

SUBSTANCE............................2007......2014
Alcohol Positive...................... 9.7%.....2.9%
Alcohol Positive Nighttime.........12.4%....9.4%
Alcohol Positive Daytime............1.0%....1.9%
Alcohol ≥ 0.08........................ 1.7%.....0.4%
Alcohol ≥ 0.08 Nighttime............2.2%.....2.1%
Alcohol ≥ 0.08 Daytime..............0.1%.....0.1%
Drug Positive..........................13.6%....14.4%
Drug Positive Nighttime.............14.4%...18.4%
Drug Positive Daytime...............11.0%...14.6%
THC (Marijuana) Positive.............6.9%.....6.1%
THC (Marijuana) Nighttime...........7.7%.....9.4%
THC (Marijuana) Daytime.............4.5%.....5.4%

Overall it looks like the numbers are very similar, with Alcohol involvement doing DOWN since 2007, while accidents where Marijuana was used had increased.

[Fred Friendlier]

22. Thank You

What I conclude, from reading the source paper, is that the research was intended to test whether a reading of THC level in the blood or in the urine can serve as a simple and definitive test for intoxication in the way Blood Alcohol Concentration does for ethanol.

The short answer is that it does not, for people can have significant levels of TCH long after the impairment wears off.

In the sense of "A implies B does not mean B implies A," this does not prove that it is safe to drive while high.

I find it embarrassing that so many allegedly serious news reporters are leaping right over the facts in their eagerness to proclaim the story that they only wish was true.

[840high]

28. ....

[AlbertCat]

17. I'm more worried about texting than stoned drivers!

[RebelOne]

18. I have driven under the influence of alcohol,

and I have driven while stoned. I was fine while driving while drinking. But I did very badly while stoned because once I found myself driving on the wrong side of the road. That was a long time ago and I do not smoke weed any longer. I do drink wine, but I would never drive under the influence any more.

[leftyladyfrommo]

24. I just saw something that said 1 in 4 drivers

on the road is high on something. That included people taking prescription drugs that could hamper their driving ability. .

If that is the case then the slightly stoned people out there on the road must be doing pretty well because when you figure how many hundreds of thousands of people around here are on the road each day we really don't have many accidents.

The really bad accidents here are really often related to alcohol. I don't think I've ever heard of one that was blamed on MJ.

[hedgehog]

25. I read years ago that one reason drunk people are such dangerous drivers

is that a lot of them keep falling asleep. (It was in Dr. Dements Book on sleep, IIRC)

Wouldn't that also be a problem for people driving stoned?

[phil89]

26. No, why would it? Nt

Nt

[840high]

27. Why do either?