Featured News 2015 New Government Study on Marijuana Shows No Link to Car Accidents

New Government Study on Marijuana Shows No Link to Car Accidents

Many marijuana users will say that they believe it is safer to drive while under the influence of marijuana than alcohol. Now, a recent government study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) may be backing up this notion with some hard statistics.

The NHTSA's study found that marijuana use does not increase the crash risk of the driver – a result that likely doesn't surprise medical experts and criminal lawyers.

The study followed over 3,000 drivers who had been involved in collisions over a period of 20 months; the study measured if the drivers were on any substances at the time of the crash. The study also used 6,000 control drivers in the same geographical area over the same period who were not involved in any car accidents.

"It was the most closely controlled study of its kind that has ever been conducted," said Gordon Trowbridge, communications director for the NHTSA.

Alcohol Greatly Increases Crash Risk

Not surprisingly, the study showed that drivers who consumed alcohol were far more likely to get into an accident. The study found that when a driver had a blood alcohol concentration of .08%, they were four more times likely to crash than a sober driver.

With a BAC of 0.15%, a driver is 12 times as likely to be involved in a crash. In contrast, a driver with THC in their system is only 5% more likely to be involved in a crash.

While the study shows that marijuana doesn't even come close to increasing crash risk like alcohol does, for now alcohol and marijuana are still treated the same by police and prosecutors.

"We know far less about marijuana at this point than we do about alcohol," says Trowbridge.

If you have been arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol, marijuana, or another controlled substance, you should reach out to a skilled criminal defense attorney who will protect your rights.

Related News:

What to Know Before Purchasing a Vehicle

Purchasing a vehicle can be a very exciting experience, but in order to make it as less complicated as possible, you probably should have access to the general information needed for purchasing a car. ...
Read More »

Obesity: A Driving Danger

There are many factors that can create a traffic accident fatality, but one of the newest studies show that obese men and women have a higher probability of dying in a traffic accident than average ...
Read More »

Keeping Children Safe from Power Windows

Cars can be dangerous machines for children to be around because of their immense size and power. You may be surprised to learn that many of the accidents involving cars and kids have nothing to do ...
Read More »