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Drugs or alcohol a factor in majority of fatal car accidents: U.S. study


September 13, 2012   by Canadian Underwriter


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Just over half of U.S. drivers killed in automobile accidents had drugs or alcohol in their systems at the time of the crash, according to a new study from Columbia University.

Alcohol was the most common substance detected, followed by marijuana and stimulants, such as amphetamines. While alcohol or drugs were a factor in 57% of fatal crashes, 60% of men killed while driving had drugs or alcohol in their system, compared to less than half of women.

One in five of the 20,150 fatally injured drivers between 2005 and 2009 had multiple substances in their system at the time of the accident. Men and people driving at night were the most likely to have used alcohol or drugs, according to the study.

Study co-author Joanne Brady of Columbia University in New York told Reuters that not all states test for the same drugs at the time of a crash, or have a policy to test consistently at all. She added it is not definitively known how multiple substances might interact to affect a driver’s ability to focus on the road.

 The study appeared in the journal Addiction.


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