Drunk driving in America has plummeted by a third since 2007 - but the number of motorists taking drugs behind the wheel has rocketed, a government report reveals.
According to the five-yearly survey, just one per cent of drivers during weekend nighttime hours were found to be over the blood alcohol limit of 0.08 per cent in 2013, and only eight per cent of drivers had 'some' alcohol in their system.
It is a drop of 30 per cent from the 2007 survey and down 80 per cent since the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration started gathering data in 1973.
But the latest survey also found that 22 per cent of drivers tested positive for at least one drug that could affect safety.
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2 comments:
Alcohol is a drug.
I really don't think people are suddenly starting to drive while stoned just because its made legal in some areas.
This really is nothing new. How many times do we read about a drug bust where the cop pulled over someone and smelled burning marijuana in the car which lead to an arrest ? Do we assume that all this time the driver wasn't smoking and just the passengers were ? Now suddenly because it legal in some states the drivers and smoking it as well.
You can watch any season of Cops and find stoned drivers being pulled over and busted for the drug but almost never charged with a DUI.
There have always been stoned drivers its just now that people are looking into this because it has been decriminalized in a few states.
Think about it...only a few states have made it legal and suddenly the number of stoned drives is up 50%. So all across the country everyone decided to get stoned and drive because its legal in Colorado ?
Also statistics can be twisted in so many ways. If 1 person was caught being under the influence of THC last year and 2 were found this year then that would be a 100% increase.
There is not a single way to tell if a person is intoxicated on pot behind the wheel because pot stays in your system for so long (30 days roughly). Chances are the average stoner would fail a field sobriety test weather they were stoned or sober.
If someone smoked a joint this morning and went out driving in the evening chances are they would show the same amount of THC in their system.
Don't get me wrong. I don't condone anyone driving while under the influence of any drug. There is simply no excuse for such behavior but these new found statistics are almost impossible to prove.
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