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December is National Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention month. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that roughly one of every five drivers killed in automobile accidents last year had drugs in their system at the time of the crash, according to recent NHTSA research.
Gil Kerlikowske, the White House Drug Policy Director, says the data is a “good first attempt” to greater understanding of the role drugs play in motor vehicle fatalities. All 50 states set .08 as the legal limit for blood alcohol levels as evidence that a driver is impaired including under North Carolina DWI laws. Researchers have not determined what level of specific drugs in a person’s system lead to impairment for drivers.
The NHTSA says that the new data does not clearly state that drugs were a factor in causing the fatal car accidents. More studies are necessary to determine the level of drugs that show whether a person is driving while impaired, according to the agency.
The NHTSA researchers say the numbers may also underreport the number of drivers who had drugs in their system. The agency says that only about three out of every five drivers killed in a motor vehicle accident were tested for drugs after the crash. Testing of accident victims varies from state to state. In 2009, roughly 33 percent of drivers who were killed and were later tested for drugs, tested positive.
The NHTSA research includes illegal drugs and prescription drugs. Aspirin, nicotine, alcohol and drugs administered during treatment after the accident were excluded from the study. The agency says that different drugs linger in the body for different periods of time. The agency did not determine how long before the crash the drugs were ingested by the drivers who tested positive.
The research says roughly 4000 of the 22,000 drivers killed in auto accidents last year tested positive.
Kerlikowske says as research and awareness of the “significant problem” increases, “there is just no reason we won’t be able to make progress” in the area of drug impairment. Kerlikowske says research and awareness has made strides in reducing driving while impaired related to alcohol.
Source: Associated Press, “Gov’t: Drugs were in 1 in 5 drivers killed in 2009,” 30 Nov 2010