NHTSA: Alcohol & Drugs Common Factors in Serious Accidents
A new study from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reveals that numerous fatal accidents in the U.S. are directly related to alcohol and drugs consumption. While there’s no surprise that alcohol and drugs hinder your driving ability, the sheer number of fatal accidents involving intoxicated driving is a little unnerving.
In all, more than half of the people killed in car accidents in this country had alcohol or drugs in their system at the time of the accident.
The NHTSA looked at data from 14 states and found that men and people driving at night were most likely to have alcohol or drugs show up on the toxicology screen conducted after the accident. It isn’t clear how much they had in them, or whether it was enough to cause impairment, but there is little doubt that at least some of them, if not most, were impaired.
While we don’t know how concentrated the levels were and can’t definitively say the drugs caused the accident, there’s a pretty good chance they were at least a contributing factor.
57% of 20,150 drivers who were killed from 2005 to 2009 tested positive for at least one drug, including alcohol. Alcohol was the most commonly found substance, followed by marijuana, and prescription stimulants.
Among men, the statistic was 60%. For women, it was less than half. Also, those who crashed at night or on the weekend were more likely to test positive for drugs.
The study provided good information but left many questions unanswered. One concern, for instance, is the fact that marijuana can register on a drug test for weeks after consuming the substance. So, the fact that marijuana was found in someone’s system doesn’t necessarily mean they were high or that they even smoked pot within the last 24 hours.
We also don’t know how much pot or how much prescription drugs it takes for someone to be “impaired” as we do with alcohol. No legal limits have been set. Also, we don’t know the level of impairment, so definitively attributing the accidents to the drug use is impossible.
“There’s a need for more testing, and more consistency within the testing,” said study co-author Joanne Brady of Columbia University in New York.
Regardless, if you are involved in an accident with someone who is under the influence of alcohol or drugs, it’s not a long shot to assume that the substance played a role in the cause of the crash. Holding someone responsible for their reckless actions is something we can help with.
If you’ve been injured in a drunk driving accident, contact us today. We can discuss your legal options and how you might be entitled to compensation for your injuries. Our attorneys can be reached by calling 212-529-7848 (that’s 212-LAWSUIT).
