Drug-related teen driver fatalities catching up to alcohol-related deaths

The number of teen fatalities in auto collisions involving drug use rose significantly between 2000 and 2010, to a point that is as serious as drinking and driving, according to a new review from State Farm.

Based on secondary research from the Traffic Injury Research Foundation (TIRF), in 2000, a greater percentage of fatally injured drivers between ages 16 and 19 tested positive for alcohol (40.3%) than drugs (23.6%).

However, by 2010, that gap closed, with drug-related fatalities jumping to 39.2% and alcohol-related deaths dropping slightly to 36.6%.

Overall, more males (at 43%) tested positive for drugs than females (25.4%) between 2008 and 2010.

Drugs found included illicit substances, prescription drugs and over-the-counter medications, and some were used in combination. Cannabis was the most prevalent, with 28.6% of fatally-injured drivers testing positive for its use.

“While drug-impaired driving isn’t necessarily new, this upward trend demonstrates that our society needs to increase awareness of the dangers, similar to what we have with alcohol,” Ward Vanlaar, vice president of research at TIRF commented in a statement.

“Anybody looking at the data will understand why, especially when they see a peak year like 2006 where close to half, 43.7%, of fatally injured teens tested positive for drugs in their system.”