In the United States alone, studies have indicated that drugged driving has lead to a shocking correlation causing nearly a quarter of fatal crashes. The Office of National Drug Control Policy has bolstered its support to raise awareness and closely work with Federal partners, state and local authorities, community groups and organizations across the country to reduce drugged driving in America.
What is drugged driving?
“Have one [drink] for the road” was once a commonly used phrase in American culture. It has only been within the past 25 years that as a Nation, Americans and other nations have begun to recognize the dangers associated with drunk driving. And through a multipronged and concerted effort involving many stakeholders—including educators, media, legislators, law enforcement, and community organizations such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving—the Nation has seen a decline in the numbers of people killed or injured as a result of drunk driving. But it is now time that we recognize and address the similar dangers that can occur with drugged driving.
The principal concern regarding drugged driving is that driving under the influence of any drug that acts on the brain could impair one’s motor skills, reaction time, and judgment. Drugged driving is a public health concern because it puts not only the driver at risk but also passengers and others who share the road. However, despite the knowledge about a drug’s potentially lethal effects on driving performance and other concerns that have been acknowledged by some public health officials, policy officials, and constituent groups, drugged driving laws have lagged behind alcohol-related driving legislation, in part because of limitations in the current technology for determining drug levels and resulting impairment. *Source: DrugAbuse.gov
On September 6, 2012, GHSA announced its support of drugged driving per se laws and enhanced penalties for driving under the influence of multiple drugs. With drugged driving per se laws, also known as zero tolerance laws, a driver can be charged with impaired driving solely for having a drug is his/her system. Seventeen states currently have enacted these laws. Additionally, GHSA is encouraging states to adopt an enhanced penalty for driving under the influence of multiple drugs, such as a combination of alcohol and another drug, or the combination of multiple drugs (other than alcohol).
“Drugged driving is a lot more complex than drunk driving because there are so many drugs and no national standards like there are for drunk driving. That makes it much more difficult for states to effectively address this growing problem. Drug per se laws are one of the few tools that states can use that will help get drugged drivers off the road.” – Barbara Harsha, GHSA Executive Director
In the United Kingdom, a focus on drugged driving has given rise to the ever creative Think! campaigns that raise awareness of drugging and driving and its impacts on driving. In a unique approach, the campaign illustrates how drivers who think concealing that they are drugged is much easier than concealing drink driving are challenged on that basis that ‘Your eyes will give you away’.
The UK’s drugged driving advert is featured in the right column.
Other myths challenged by the NZ Drug Foundation includes the notion that drugs will increase driving skills.
Some people think that if amphetamines work for fighter pilots then they must be good for my driving too. While amphetamines and other stimulant drugs may make you feel like you could fly a jet plane, there is a big difference between you heading out to party and an Air Force fighter pilot going into battle. Fighter pilots are prescribed controlled doses of medical grade amphetamines and their health is constantly assessed and monitored.
This is a far cry from the typical night out on the pills for a recreational stimulant drug user. Many unknown factors around recreational stimulant use make it unsafe to drive – you can never be sure what it is you’re taking and how it’s going to affect you, you don’t know what dose you’ve taken, and chances are you’ve used other drugs during the course of the night and their effects could be masked by the stimulants you’re on. Onto it you may feel, but a fighter pilot you are not!
Some factsResearchers put ecstasy users into a driving simulator after taking ecstasy, and they crashed more often than when they drove without any ecstasy in their systems[1].
- Stimulant drugs were detected in the blood of 54 drivers who died on New Zealand roads between 2004 and 2009
- One in ten potentially impaired drivers killed on New Zealand roads had a stimulant drug in their system when they crashed.