Almost one out of every six drivers you meet on the highway at night on the weekends are driving under the influence of some kind of drugs, according to the latest National Highway Traffic Safety Administration roadside survey. The good news is the number of drunk drivers on the road is declining.In the latest survey, only 2.2 percent of drivers were driving drunk, but 16.3 percent were under the influence of drugs.
NHTSA researchers took breath, saliva, blood samples and questionnaires from almost 11,000 randomly selected drivers in 300 locations around the United States. They were waved down by police officers, but the drivers were approached by interviewers who were not law enforcement.
Drunk Drivers Decline
The drivers were told that the survey was voluntary and anonymous. They were given cash incentives for giving saliva and blood samples.
When the same survey was conducted in 1973, 7.5 percent of drivers had a blood alcohol level of .08 or higher. In the latest survey, conducted at night during weekends in 2007, only 2.2 percent were legally intoxicated.
Most on Marijuana
But the survey found that 16.3 percent of drivers were under the influence of the following drugs:
- 8.6 percent - marijuana
- 3.9 percent - cocaine
- 3.9 percent - over-the-counter and prescription drugs
Other findings of the survey included:
- Drivers were more likely to be drunk between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m.
- Men were more likely to be impaired by alcohol than women.
- Drunk drivers were more likely to be driving motorcycles and pickup trucks.
"They went to great lengths to prevent these people from driving home," Jeff Michael of the NHTSA said. "It was not an enforcement stop. The important thing was we didn't want to allow anybody back into traffic that appeared to be impaired."
New Sources:
Drunk Driving is Down, but Many Drivers are on Drugs
Driver Survey Finds Less Drinking, More Drugs
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