Alcohol is thought to contribute to the death of more than 12,000 people each year in auto fatalities. Nearly one-third of fatal accidents (30%) are believed to be alcohol related. That’s an improvement over decades past. People drank more 50 years ago compared to today and people died in alcohol-related auto fatalities in greater numbers. In 1982 around 20,000 people died in car crashes related to alcohol and 40% of fatal accidents were attributed to alcohol. The decrease in drunk driving fatalities is due to public awareness campaigns and to the federal and state governments cracking down on drunk driving. What used to be quietly tolerated – even joked about – is now punished like the crime it is.
Driving under the influence has not gone away but there is a new problem: drugged driving. Drugged driving has been around for decades, but it is becoming an issue now that many states have approved recreational and medicinal marijuana. According to Kaiser Family Foundation Health News, more than 40 states have decriminalized various forms of cannabis or psychedelic drugs in recent years, reporting:
“Impaired driving is a top public safety issue that extends beyond alcohol,” said Sean Rushton, a spokesperson for the federal highway safety agency, which is tackling the issue collaboratively, with resources to ensure a “comprehensive and coordinated approach.”
[A] driver can be presumed impaired under Colorado law if their blood contains 5 nanograms of THC or higher per liter. But that “permissible inference” threshold is different from a legal limit — such as the 0.08% blood alcohol content limit — and the level set by Colorado is not supported by published scientific studies, Gregory said.
KFF Health News believes that the Trump Administration is not investing enough research into how to police or detect drug use while driving. The lack of available tools to enforce laws against driving under the influence of [intoxicants] has led to another problem that threatens the liberty of Americans: sober DUI arrests. Arrests for driving under the influence when the driver is later found to not be under the influence of drugs or alcohol is becoming increasingly common. Nearly half of all states (22 in all) have had DUI arrests for people later found to not be intoxicated. Some states aggressively pursue drugged drivers and get it wrong more often than others. Middle Tennessee is an example:
[An investigation found] more than 2,500 cases where Tennesseans were arrested for DUI but blood tests showed no substances. DUI expert Joshua Ott notes there is no good research proving field sobriety tests accurately determine impairment, making the reliability of these tests questionable for law enforcement decisions.
Indeed, the Tennessee highway patrol stopped using breathalyzers years ago and only began using the devices again this past April under pressure. More from WSMV4:
The Tennessee Highway Patrol is reversing its stance on breathalyzers after years of refusing to use them during field sobriety tests.
WSMV4 Investigates’ Sobering Problem investigations showed case after case of troopers refusing to use breathalyzers during field sobriety tests.
In one case, a driver asked, “Is there any way to do a breathalyzer?” A trooper responded, “We can’t. We don’t do breathalyzers, sir.”
Victims complain about being pulled over for vague reasons (“oh, you swerved or were driving erratically”). Once stopped officers can require unreliable field sobriety tests, such as standing on one foot and reciting the alphabet backwards. Nobody can do that. The following was reported by WSMV4 News (Tennessee):
DUI expert witness Joshua Ott, former standardized field sobriety testing instructor and certified drug recognition expert instructor, pointed to a 2023 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association that examined 184 people. Some participants smoked cannabis while others were given a placebo, and officers administered field sobriety tests to all.
Officers determined that 49.2% of people given placebos failed the field sobriety tests.
Drivers who don’t perform well on field sobriety tests are arrested, their cars impounded. Their drivers’ licenses can be suspended for months while waiting for a court date. Employment is sometimes impacted by allegations of wrongdoing.
One Tennessee highway patrolman arrested 41 people over a three-year period. More than half of them were later found to have no intoxicants in their systems or within legal limits. Sober DUI is a growing problem nationwide, as is driving under the influence of drugs. Currently there are no easy answers.
Read more at KFF Health News: Efforts to Understand the Nation’s Drugged Driving Problem Stall Under Trump