Are drivers under cannabis more often responsible of death on the roads?
Are drivers under cannabis more often responsible of death on the roads? |
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http://www.chanvre-info.ch/info/en/Are-the-drivers-under-the.html
Even within the legal limit of 0,5 g of alcohol per 1 liter of blood drivers are more dangerous than those who only smoked cannabis.
Taking into account the ensemble of collateral factors, the drivers under influence of cannabis (all THC concentrations) are exposed to the risk of being responsible of a lethal road accident which is 1,8 greater than in the case of a negatively tested driver (cf. PDF).
Considering the responsibility of lethal road accidents, the drivers under influence of alcohol (all alcohol concentrations) are exposed to the risk of being responsible of these accidents than the drivers who are not under the influence of none of the above. The study also confirms the effect of a massive dose regarding the alcohol.
On the basis of 6 000 lethal accidents per year, 2 270 deaths would be imputable to alcohol, while the annual number of victims imputable to cannabis would be 230 killed.
Conclusions of the first epidemiological research on the link between drugs use and road accidents (SAM) are representing a source of deep embarrass for the French government majority. The Study confirmed the preponderant role of alcohol in road accidents, while the risk of having one under the influence of cannabis seems to be very low or merely null.
The study SAM (in English)- "Drugs and Lethal Accidents in the Road Traffic" by l’Observatoire Français des Drogues et des Toxicomanies (OFDT) (PDF, 125 KB).
Also see this article in Drug War Chronicle