drugged driving News

Maine Police Say Driver on Drugs Swerved Off Road, Hit 4 Troopers

A motorist who veered off a highway and struck four state troopers was charged with operating under the influence of drugs, officials said Monday, as two of the troopers remained hospitalized. Three troopers and a trooper-in-training were at the end …

Safety Groups Argue Curtailing Impaired Driving Requires Moving Beyond Fines, Jail Time

Efforts to curtail impaired driving and related accidents by repeat offenders on the road should address the underlying problems prompting the unsafe behavior, according to a new report from state highway officials and the liquor industry’s drunk driving prevention group. …

Science, Enforcement Lag as Car Accidents, Claims Rise in Legal Cannabis States

Car crashes in the first three states to legalize recreational marijuana have soared as law enforcement and regulators struggle to define driving high, let alone determine how to fight it. Colorado, Oregon, and Washington saw a combined 5.2% increase in …

Officials: Driver Was Huffing Before Crash That Killed Wisconsin Girl Scouts, Mom

A young driver was inhaling chemical vapors, or huffing, just prior to striking and killing three Girl Scouts and a mother and critically injuring a fourth girl who had been picking up trash along a rural Wisconsin highway, police said. …

Weed Warning: Legalizing Marijuana Tied to Rise in Crashes in 3 States by HLDI

Legalizing recreational marijuana use in Colorado, Oregon and Washington has resulted in collision claim frequencies that are about three percent higher overall than would have been expected without legalization, a new insurance report has found. The Highway Loss Data Institute …

Drugged Driving Leading Cause of Road Deaths in Tennessee

Drugged driving has overtaken drunken and distracted driving as a factor in Tennessee traffic fatalities. Citing an analysis of Tennessee Highway Patrol data, The Tennessean reports the number of deaths from crashes with drug-impaired drivers leapt by 89 percent from …

Many Weed-Smoking Canadian Drivers Say They Can Drive Unimpaired: Insurers

Almost half of weed-smoking Canadian drivers say that they can safely operate a vehicle while stoned. Among Canadians who have driven under the influence of marijuana, 44 percent don’t think it impacts their ability to drive safely, according to a …

N.Y. Court: Doc May Owe 3rd Party for Not Warning Patient About Driving on Meds

New York’s highest court has reinstated a medical malpractice suit against a Long Island hospital and the doctor and physician’s assistant who gave painkillers to a woman who subsequently crashed her car. The suit was filed by the driver of …

Colorado Official: Nebraska Needs to Address Drugged Driving

A Colorado highway safety official says Nebraska should not wait for marijuana to become before acting to keep drugged drivers off the roads. The Lincoln Journal Star reports Glenn Davis, highway safety manager for the Colorado Department of Transportation, and …

Drugged Driving Increases While Drunk Driving Decreases

The nation’s decades-long campaign to combat drunk driving continues to make our roads safer, but use of marijuana and prescription drugs is increasingly prominent on the highways, creating new safety questions, according to two studies released by the Department of …