A report suggesting that drivers killed in crashes are more likely to be on drugs than drunk is getting pushback from a surprising direction — other traffic-safety advocates.
A week after a report suggesting that drug-impaired driving is moving to the fore of concerns in traffic safety, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) jumped in Monday to express concern that the report could lead the public to believe the country has turned the corner on drunk driving. There is still much work to do, MADD officials said.
“There is no way you can say drugs have overtaken alcohol as the biggest killer on the highway,” J.T. Griffin, chief government affairs officer at MADD, said Monday.
“The data is not anywhere close to being in a way that would suggest that … We’re doing a lot of good things on drunk driving, but the public needs to understand this problem is not solved.”
MADD officials also questioned the methodology of the research in the report, noting that there is no scientifically agreed level of impairment with drugs such as marijuana. There is also no uniform test, roadside or otherwise, to determine such a level.
The Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA), citing federal statistics, last week issued an update of a comprehensive 2015 report saying that 43 percent of drivers tested in fatal crashes in 2015 had used a legal or illegal drug, higher than the 37 percent who tested above the legal limit for alcohol. The report comes as 29 states, along with the District of Columbia, have moved to legalize medical marijuana, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Some have also lifted penalties on recreational use. What’s more, the use of opioids has become epidemic in some parts of the country.
In releasing its findings, the GHSA — whose report drew on data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) Fatal Analysis Reporting System (FARS) — urged states to step up efforts to train law enforcement to spot and arrest impaired drivers who have been using marijuana, opioids or other drugs.
MADD — which altered its mission in 2015 to include the fight against drug-impaired driving — found itself on Monday emphasizing limitations in the GHSA report. MADD officials said tests that are available to analyze drug and alcohol use are so different as to be unreliable when comparing the two using FARS data. MADD officials also recoiled from the possibility that many would read the GHSA report and conclude that more fatalities are caused by drug-impaired drivers than those impaired by alcohol.
To some, the report smacked of an attempt by the makers and purveyors of booze to shift the conversation. That’s because the GHSA report was also underwritten by the Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility, whose members include makers of alcoholic beverages such as Bacardi USA; Brown-Forman, which produces Jack Daniel’s whiskey; and Constellation Brands, whose labels include Corona beer.
Read more of the original article at The Washington Post.
