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As states liberalize their marijuana laws, public officials and safety advocates worry that more drivers using the drug will lead to a big increase in traffic deaths. Now The Guardian reports that it appears that unlike alcohol, drivers using marijuana tend to be aware that they are impaired and try to compensate by driving slowly, avoiding risky actions such as passing other cars, and allowing extra room between vehicles. In Washington State, there was a jump of nearly 25% in drivers testing positive for marijuana in 2013 – the first full year after legalization – but no corresponding increase in car accidents or fatalities. When adjusted for alcohol and driver demographics, a study by the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation found that otherwise sober drivers who tested positive for marijuana were slightly less likely to have been involved in a crash (PDF) than drivers who tested negative for all drugs. “We were expecting a huge impact,” says Eduardo Romano, lead author of the study, “and when we looked at the data from crashes we’re not seeing that much.”
But another recent study that used similar data to assess crash risk came to an opposite conclusion. When Columbia University researchers compared drivers who tested positive for marijuana in a roadside survey with state drug and alcohol tests of drivers killed in crashes, they found that marijuana alone increased the likelihood of being involved in a fatal crash by 80% (PDF). But because the study included states where not all drivers are tested for alcohol and drugs, a majority of drivers in fatal crashes were excluded, possibly skewing the results. Also, the use of urine tests rather than blood tests in some cases may overestimate marijuana use and impairment. “We see the legalization of marijuana in Colorado and Washington as a wake-up call for all of us in highway safety,” says Jonathan Adkins. "We don’t know enough about the scope of marijuana-impaired driving to call it a big or small problem.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 03 2014, @11:29PM
What I'm hoping to see are people starting to substitute pot for booze leading to a reduced accident rate because, for a similar level of intoxication, pot does not impair driving ability as much as alcohol.
I don't know if that is true, but I sure want it to be true because (a) saving lives is always good and (b) fuck the drug warriors.
(Score: 2) by tathra on Thursday September 04 2014, @12:30AM
except weed is not a substitute for alcohol. they both have vastly different effects on different neurological systems. i dont know anyone that gets more sociable on weed, for example (and even if you do, it doesnt reliably produce that effect in everyone). GHB is about the only thing that might make a good substitute for booze.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 04 2014, @12:49AM
Sure, not everyone is going to substitute pot for alcohol.
That would be a really stupid thing to expect.
Just like it would be really stupid to think that everybody drinks alcohol for the same reason.
(Score: 2) by Geotti on Thursday September 04 2014, @01:49AM
GHB is about the only thing that might make a good substitute for booze.
You mean in the sense that it makes girls spread their legs?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 04 2014, @07:26AM
In my experience pot is great for that.
This one girl I knew was a tiger when she was high.
Best of fuck of my life.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Thursday September 04 2014, @05:09AM
... and (c) more booze for me.
Sounds good!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford