The campaign to reduce drunk driving has been a success, but new safety concerns over the use of marijuana and prescription drugs are emerging, according to two studies released Feb. 6 by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
In the first study, the national Roadside Survey of Alcohol and Drug Use by Drivers (NRS), NHTSA set up voluntary checkpoints at 300 sites across the contiguous United States at different times of day to examine drug use and alcohol trends among weekday daytime drivers as well as weekend nighttime drivers. The NRS found that the number of drivers with alcohol in their systems declined by nearly one-third since 2007 and by more than three-quarters since 1973, the year the first roadside survey was conducted. The 2013–2014 survey also found large differences by the day of the week and the time of day in the likelihood of drivers having an illegal breath alcohol level (BrAC) of 0.08 or higher (the standard in all states).
Drivers, who volunteered for the study by stopping at the random checkpoints, were tested for a large number of potentially impairing drugs. The proportion of nighttime weekend drivers with illegal drugs in their systems was 15.2% in 2013–2014 compared to the proportion with prescription or over-the-counter medications at 7.3%.
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Rosalie Donlon
Rosalie Donlon is the editor in chief of ALM's insurance and tax publications, including NU Property & Casualty magazine and NU PropertyCasualty360.com. You can contact her at rdonlon@alm.com.
