Drugged Driving Twice as Frequent in California as Drunk Driving

And harder to detect, according to the state's traffic safety experts

Drugged driving. It's twice the problem drunk driving is, according to new research, and half as easy to test for.

The Atlantic informs readers of a survey showing that among drivers pulled over in the Golden State by authorities on recent weekends, 14% were found to have drugs in their system, while only 7.3% were inebriated. There were even more drivers caught stoned than drunk, the survey shows, with 7.4% of those stopped by police harboring THC in their system.

A press release accompanying the data from the California Office of Traffic Safety explains that stoned, coked up or what-have-you drivers are less often detected than drunk drivers, and that toxicology reports are pricier for those found operating a vehicle under the influence of something other than beer, wine or liquor.

"The results reinforce our belief that driving after consuming potentially impairing drugs is a serious and growing problem," said the director of the California OTS.

Via The Atlantic.

Is drugged driving more dangerous in your opinion than drunk driving?

[GetAwake]

They've done tests proving that some even drive better high on MJ than they do sober. I believe that some municipalities are trying to push this through because they know that a large portion if the population are going to have THC in their system. California, Washington State, Colorado, D.C...what do they have in common? Legal Medical or Recreational MJ sales.

[Zazziness]

Not that I ever saw. All the test results I've seen and several documentaries that illustrated the point proved that folks high on marijuana will slow down without realizing it to compensate for being foggy. And while that's a heck of a lot better than a drunk barreling down the freeway while he sloppily weaves from lane to lane, it's still not safe. Not if you have to react quickly to something, like a child or animal suddenly running out into the road. Recreational drugs belong in their proper place -- where the user is not risking anyone else's safety but his own. :-)

[GetAwake]

Yes, but my point is that THC-content remains in the system for days and weeks after the user is sober. Until they find an accurate test method, it's only an excuse to waste the people's time.

[ADudeCalledRay]

Who the hell performed that test? And no, I do not think MJ should be illegal but if you drive while high on the substance you should be treated as if you are a drunk driver.

[ADudeCalledRay]

@GetAwake If the person is visibly high then yes they should be prosecuted as you would a drunk driver.

[Souljah]

well it depends what kinda drugs your on.. Pot seems to make people Paranoid while driving, alot of people are more cautious driving on pot.. But like anything else some people have different reactions to the drug..

[ADudeCalledRay]

Pot also slows you down. And paranoid does not equal safe. You can do something just as if not more dangerous than just merely being complacent.

[Dan_Tien]

More dangerous? How can you judge that? I suppose that it would depend on the drug and how much was taken, but I barely trust people who are clean and sober on the road. If you are going to drink or do drugs, please stay off the road. The life you save may be mine.

[RoyFloyd]

Doubtful that anyone drives better while stoned than sober, but certainly better than those who drive drunk. For the public good, this must be thoroughly tested with further studies. Where do I sign up?

[FFX_VA]

Impaired is still impaired no matter the drug you used to get there; although around here Texting while driving is the bigger problem

[tomincali]

its going to get worst. oh well hopefully the tow companies will get what they lost from towing unlicensed drivers.

[Pragmatist]

I'm sorry, I'm confused since the article didn't mention towing or unlicensed drivers. What is going to get worse? From my understanding California has always been somewhat of a "dazed and confused" state for decades now. What does this have to do with towing companies?

[tomincali]

@Pragmatist i mentioned towing do to in ca the cops now give 15 minutes for an unlicensed driver to get a licensed driver to get the car before being impounded,so now those tow yards will get the cars of those driving high. the tow companies get to sell the cars that the owners cannot afford the impound fees.

i see the roads getting worst, do to more folks are doing dope.

[Pragmatist]

@tomincali Ah... that makes a little bit more sense. However, as I mentioned before... it's not like marijuana has not already be heavily used in California (birthplace of the hippies) since way back in the seventies. At least I haven't read anything about it's use particularly increasing in California.

[tomincali]

@Pragmatist just about every where you drive in my town you can now smell it growing or being smoked. not like the old days where folks smoked their dope in hiding,its just about everywhere.

[Pragmatist]

@tomincali But does that mean it there is more smoking going on... or just that it is more obvious because people aren't hiding it as much?(out in the open more).

For instance, we still see on the news all the time gruesome murders and mass shootings and people keep saying the nation is getting worse and we need to "protect ourselves".. but in reality the homicide rate today is half of what it was twenty years ago (1992) as well as half of what it was thirty years ago (1982), and half of what it was fourty years ago (1972). There is a similar trend with violent crimes such as aggravated assault (i.e. the current rates are much lower than they were in 2002, 1992, 1982, and 1972).

Here are the crime rates for the last 50 years.
http://www.disastercenter.com/crime/uscrime.h...

Anecdotal observation is not a reliable source (that's why I always pick the wrong lane in slow traffic or when grocery shopping).

[KyleMFb]

Depends on what drug your on if your high on weed that's not "dangerous" as driving buzzed or drunk being high on weed and driving is not recommended but your not endanger of passing out like when your drunk and you can easily still pass a sobriety test unlike when your buzzed or drunk so driving high on weed is blown out of proportion your still fully functional but if your driving on meth that depends on how high you are meth is a stimulate so it would be saver than driving drunk same thing with crack but if you were high on heroin that could be extremely dangerous bc you would be in a deep daze called "the nod" and that would be more dangerous than driving drunk

[tohickon]

People get into accidents completely sober more often than drunk or drugged driving combined. We should Ban sober driving.

[kirbstomp1]

Well played!! I agree.

[martydotcom]

THC is minor league, worry about Adderall, OxyContin, Mom's Xanax oe Elavil
Rxsrug abuse is the real undetected danger

[Zazziness]

The "harboring THC in their system" tells us nothing since current test can't differentiate between a joint smoked five minutes ago or five days ago. They're working on more precision but last I heard, they hadn't gotten there yet.

[PNWest]

Driving while impaired is bad no matter what it is that you are impaired on. Don't do it.

[SavageMazx]

PN,

We may always agree, but I am absolutely with you on this. Impaired period, alcohol, prescription or what ever, pay attention and drive.

[hwyangel]

You have my vote on that too.

[jessejaymes]

This means very little in terms of information. A pot smoker will drive slower but a meth head will drive as bad or worse than a drunk. Same for a crack head and so on. To lump them all together is misinformation and frankly while I don't drive on pot and never have, I'd rather take my chances with a pot head driving than with a drunk or any other druggie.

[PoliticalSpice]

This depends entirely on the drug, the circumstances, etc. people shouldn't drive high, stoned or drunk, unfortuatelly you cann't fix stupid.

[MongoAPillager]

well golly gee,remember all you stoners saying(hey man don,t be dissing mary-jo-wanto )its not a problem with driving or heavy machinery?guess you were wrong...Bbbuuzzzzzzz

[Zazziness]

No, I don't remember people saying that. Strawmen can be fun to build in a field but they're no good in conversation.

[MRMacrum]

The results of the study in a previous thread about Red States having more fatal car accidents than Blue States combined with the fact that everyone knows Left Wingers are just a bunch of either wannabe hippie losers or aging hippies and all those hippies smoke the doob, while the Right Wingers love their alcohol along with that adrenalin pumping NASCAR then it is conclusive beyond a shadow of doubt that Pot is less dangerous than the Demon rum when driving......... Case closed.

[Sabio]

YES. But what do you expect from such a drug induced, liberal minded state like California where over 2/3 the population is either a moron, illegal, druggie, sexual deviant or all of the above!

[artjeb]

You forgot to call the people almonds or peanuts...

both are nuts which most ppl in cali are

[jessejaymes]

California is the largest agricultural state in America and is the world's 8th largest economy for a COUNTRY. In the middle of all your silly accusations, I am over 60, never been arrested, have a double masters, owned my own business for 30 years, never had a traffic ticket since age 17, have three kids, two with masters, the other with a bachelors and a professional baseball player. My deceased wife had a PHD and spoke many different languages. And I've smoked pot for over 40 years. So much for your intolerance.

[RoyFloyd]

And despite, if sabio is correct, 2/3 of California's population being mormon, illegal, druggie, or sexual deviant--they still produce a 20 bln in balance of federal payments for redistribution to the red states. Imagine how much more we could contribute to red state welfare if we weren't stoned all the time!

[PoliticalSpice]

@RoyFloyd
Good one!

[Thegrif]

Driving under the influence is driving under the influence, it never mattered to me which one I put the cuffs on.

[marine1]

After 20 years, the eyes and speech were my best indicators. RARLEY did they let me down.

[Thegrif]

@marine1 absolutely true.

[ir0nw0lfe]

Law of unintended consequences? Enjoy legalization and buckle up for the ride.

[Keyjo]

First of all, alcohol is a DRUG, drunk driving IS "drugged driving."
Secondly, THC stays in your system for days, weeks, months, so THC testing is not an accurate test of "impaired" driving.
I'd submit that driving under the influence of alcohol is more profoundly impairing than most popular illegal drugs. Now, prescription drugs, that's a different story.

[marine1]

You are right about prescription drugs and the different story is it can be contrled but someone doesn't want that to happen. I wonder why??

[jessejaymes]

More people die from overdosing on prescription drugs every year than all illegal drugs combined. Period.

[Keyjo]

@jessejaymes
Yup! Our big pharmaceutical companies are OUR drug cartels and probably kill more people than all the Mexican cartels combined!

[marine1]

Driving while under the influence of drugs is like passing in a no passing zone.