Did you know?

• If you are in the 5- to 24-year-old age group, you have a much greater chance of dying in a motor vehicle crash than dying from homicide, suicide, a fall, cancer, or heart disease.

• The Bureau of the Census estimates that there were more than 22 million young people ages 15 to 20 in the United States in 1996. The number of licensed drivers in this age group was estimated at just under 12 million. By the year 2005 the youth population is expected to have increased by almost 14 percent.

• There is a Presidential Initiative that establishes zero tolerance for drugs when possessed, used, or abused by youth.

• Alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, and inhalants are drugs commonly abused by youth.

• Research shows that marijuana is harmful to the brain, heart, lungs, and immune system. It limits learning, memory, perception, judgment, and complex motor skills like those needed to drive a vehicle.

• People under the influence of cocaine become easily confused and lose the ability to concentrate or to think clearly for any length of time.

• Inhalants can cause damage to the heart, kidneys, liver, brain, and other organs, depending on the types of inhalants used.

• Alcohol and other drugs create a serious highway safety problem among the general driving population. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that drugs are used by approximately 10 to 22 percent of drivers involved in crashes, often in combination with alcohol.

  

• In a 1990-91 NHTSA study of 1,882 fatally injured drivers from 7 states, alcohol was found in 51.5 percent of the drivers, and other drugs were found in 17.8 percent of the drivers.

• Studies of drivers injured in crashes or cited for traffic violations also show that many of those drivers have used drugs. In an ongoing NHTSA study of non-fatally injured drivers in Rochester, New York, 12 percent of all drivers tested positive for drugs other than alcohol (43 of 360 cases), and 23.5 percent of drivers less than 21 years old tested positive for drugs other than alcohol (4 of 17 cases). Studies of drivers taken for medical treatment have shown positive drug rates ranging from below 10 percent to as high as 30 to 40 percent. Studies of drug incidence among drivers arrested for motor vehicle offenses have found drugs in 15 to 50 percent of drivers. The higher rates typically are more prevalent among drivers who have been arrested for impaired or reckless driving but who were not impaired by alcohol, as shown by low blood alcohol concentration (BAC) levels.

Self-reported information confirms that teenagers use marijuana in driving situations. PRIDE�s 9th Annual Survey of Students, an annual self-administered questionnaire given to students in grades 6 through 12, sampled 129,560 students in 26 states during the 1995-96 school year. Twelfth grade students who reported that they smoke marijuana in a car equaled 20 percent; 16.3 percent drink beer in a car; 12.5 percent drink liquor in a car; and 9.5 percent drink wine coolers in a car. When all senior high school students were asked if and where they use marijuana, they reported: 23.9 percent at a friend�s house, 15.9 percent in a car, 11.6 percent at home, 6.5 percent at school, and 19.5 percent in other places.

The evidence from nationally recognized surveys clearly and consistently indicates that drug use by youth is well below the peak levels attained in the late 1970�s, but it has risen steadily in the 1990�s.

Have you thought about this?

It is illegal in all states to drive a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol, drugs other than alcohol, or a combination of alcohol and other drugs.

The Drug Evaluation and Classification (DEC) Program trains law enforcement officers in advanced impaired driving detection techniques to remove drug impaired drivers from the highway.

The DEC process is a systematic, standardized, post-arrest procedure used to determine whether a suspect is impaired by one or more categories of drugs. It is a systematic process because it is based on a variety of observable signs and symptoms proven to be reliable indicators of drug impairment.

Officers who have completed the extensive DEC training program are certified as Drug Recognition Experts (DRE�s). DRE�s learn to observe a suspect�s appearance, behavior, performance of psychological tests, eye movements in different lighting conditions, and vital signs to ascertain what category or categories of drugs are causing the impairment.

Thirty-two states using the DEC Program have officers trained to remove drug impaired drivers. Information about drug impaired driving cases and training are available for prosecutors and judges.

Following are some examples of DRE�s effectiveness in removing young drivers who were impaired by drugs:

• In 1995, 8 percent of the evaluations conducted in New Mexico were on arrestees under age 21 (the state does not routinely test for marijuana).

• In a study of 500 DRE cases in Arizona, 10.4 percent of arrestees were under age 21.

• In 1996, Maine reported 27.6 percent of the DRE evaluations conducted were on subjects under age 21.

• In the first 5 months of 1996, New York State Police data indicate that 29.8 percent of DRE evaluations were under age 21.

• In the first 9 months of 1996, Oregon State Police reported that 14.6 percent of the evaluations were conducted on subjects under age 21.

Take action:

• Evaluate the effectiveness of your state laws that prevent youth from possessing and using alcohol and other drugs.

• Provide materials that convey practical information about drugs, the health risks of drug use, how drugs impede safe driving, and the driving sanctions for drug impaired driving and other drug law violations.

• Implement an intervention program for drug impaired drivers that incorporates assessment, drug education, counseling, and other treatment as needed.

• Contact your State Highway Safety Office or NHTSA to obtain additional information on drug impaired driving.