Survey: 2 In 10 Admit To Driving While High On Marijuana
MIAMI (CBSMiami) - The next time you hit the road here's something to think about, that driver next to may be high as a kite.
A new report from DriversEd.com, the leading online driving school, found 21 percent of U.S. drivers admit to having driven while high from marijuana and six percent admit to driving after ingesting it.
Survey data found that 58 percent said they believe that legalized recreational marijuana use would lead to increased danger on roads while 91 percent said they believe marijuana can impair a driver's driving ability.
"Driving while under the influence of marijuana is dangerous and deadly, as well as illegal—even in states where medicinal and recreational cannabis use is legalized," said Laura Adams, safety and education analyst at DriversEd.com. "Like alcohol, marijuana impairs a driver's judgment, motor coordination and reaction time. Risks are amplified even more when marijuana and alcohol are mixed together."
Among the study's additional findings, 82 percent said that if a driver arrived to pick them up and they knew the driver was high from marijuana, they would not get in the car. Eleven percent said they had ridden in an Uber, Lyft or other rideshare service and suspected the driver was high from marijuana.
"What many people don't realize is that the issue of drugged driving goes well beyond alcohol and marijuana. Prescription and over-the-counter drugs, many of which have side effects including sleepiness, blurred vision, dizziness, and excitability, are often forgotten in this conversation," said Adams.
This report is a follow-up to DriversEd.com's 2019 Distracted Driving and Social Media Report, released in March, which found that 55 percent of drivers admit to checking social media while driving.