The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released a new study revealing alarming data which links drugs to car crash fatalities. 1 in 5 drivers who were killed last year tested positive for drugs at the time of the crash. This is not a clear indicator that drugs directly caused accidents, but there is a correlation. Nearly 4,000 drivers who were killed in 2009 had drugs in their system of the 22,000 drivers killed altogether. This is nearly 18%, up from 13% reported in 2005. Researchers say these numbers may have risen since testing has improved.
According to news reports, authorities tested for drugs ranging from heroin, methadone, morphine, cocaine, methamphetamine, marijuana, LSD, inhalants to prescription drugs. It is unclear, though, when the driver used the substance before they died. The White House says the research is a “good first attempt” in understanding how drugs relate to fatal car crashes. It is understood that drugs affect a driver’s judgment and reaction, however it is unknown at what level drugs can impair a driver’s ability to safely drive.
“It’s very clear that we’ve got a significant problem,” the White House Drug Policy Director said. “We’ve made great progress on alcohol-impaired driving through education and enforcement. There’s just no reason we won’t be able to make progress in this area once we start bringing it to people’s attention and we start doing the enforcement that’s needed.”
Several tragic car crash cases involving drug use include a 2009 incident when a New York mother drove the wrong direction down a road in a minivan full of children, killing herself and seven others. She had alcohol and marijuana in her system. In Pheonix, a dump truck driver with methamphetamine in his system hit and killed motorcyclists.
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