Tiger Woods DUI: Prescription drugs are a growing threat to safety on American roads

The number of drivers involved in fatal car crashes testing positive for drugs has nearly doubled in 10 years

Tiger Woods isn’t the only one driving under the influence of prescription drugs.

Woods, the former No. 1 golfer in the world, was arrested early Monday near his home on Jupiter Island, Fla., for driving under the influence. Police reportedly found him asleep at the steering wheel of a running vehicle and arrested him because of his slurred speech and for failing police-instructed roadside tasks. But his alcohol breath test was zero. In a statement late Monday, Woods said, “I take full responsibility for my actions. I want the public to know that alcohol was not involved. What happened was an unexpected reaction to prescribed medications.” Woods had back surgery last month.

Crashes involving drugged drivers have nearly doubled over the last decade. In 2015, 21% of the 32,166 fatal crashes in the U.S. involved one driver who tested positive for drugs, up from 12% of the 39,252 fatal crashes in 2005, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, according to data released last year by the government’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. “Use of marijuana and prescription drugs is increasingly prominent among drivers on America’s roads, which raises a new safety challenge,” the NHTSA says. “While it’s illegal across the United States to drive while drunk, the laws involving drugged driving vary across the states.”

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