United States authorities are increasingly looking for ways to deal with the uptick in drugged driving cases across the nation, and a spike in fatalities associated with the increase. A recent study, conducted by Columbia University, indicates that drugged driving fatalities have tripled over the past decade. These figures were compiled before taking recent marijuana legalization efforts by the states of Washington and Colorado into account.
The nation’s younger drivers seem to be the most likely to engage in drug use and driving. For example, a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration study recently indicated that one out of every eight high school seniors admitted to having used marijuana and then gotten behind the wheel of a car. These figures are truly troubling to the nation’s public safety experts, who wonder what can be done to halt the increase in fatalities.
It seems that the United States is on an inexorable path towards outright legalization of marijuana. As such, public safety authorities must devise creative ways to reach the younger crowd and convince them to not only avoid using marijuana, but especially to avoid using marijuana and then operating a vehicle.
As states across the U.S. continue to experiment with varying drug policies, authorities expect to see increased cases of drug driving in the near term. If you or a loved one have been injured in an accident with a driver who was under the influence of drugs or alcohol, please call the Omaha truck accident attorneys of Harris & Associates at (402) 397-1200 or contact us online today.
