Does marijuana pose an issue for road safety?
Now that marijuana has been made legal in more places in the world (such as some states in the US), there has been some concern on the effect of the plant on road safety. However, legal or illegal, people still use marijuana anyway which is why this concern should be addressed.
The Huffington Post made this issue apparent after a teenager from New York was involved in a fatal accident after he got behind the wheel after smoking marijuana. The car crashed into a tree killing all his friends and now the teenager faces 15 years in jail.
This above mentioned incident, alongside others, poses the question: Does marijuana (and the legalisation thereof) have an immediate impact on the safety of people on the road (much like the infamous ”drinking and driving” issue)?
Studies of marijuana’s effects show that the drug may slow decision-making, decrease peripheral vision and impede multitasking, all of which are important driving skills. But then again unlike with alcohol, drivers high on weed tend to be aware that they are impaired and try to compensate by driving slowly, avoiding risky actions such as passing other cars, and allowing extra room between vehicles. On the other hand, combining marijuana with alcohol appears to eliminate the user’s exaggerated caution and to increase driving impairment beyond the effects of either substance alone.
“We see the legalization of marijuana in Colorado and Washington as a wake-up call for all of us in highway safety,” said Jonathan Adkins, executive director of the Governors Highway Safety Association, which represents state highway safety offices. “We don’t know enough about the scope of marijuana-impaired driving to call it a big or small problem. But anytime a driver has their ability impaired, it is a problem.”
More studies have been done to deduct if marijuana does have an immediate impact on road accidents, but most of these studies’ results are unclear as marijuana has only been legal for a short amount of time in the US and the data is limited. There are other factors like habitual marijuana smokers that are at a lesser risk of feeling an influence, and in most cases will be fine driving vs. beginner-smokers who will be very impaired.
The only solution seem to be that places where marijuana is legal should set a clear limit to how much marijuana you can smoke before driving (if any) – much like the blood alcohol limit. “If states legalise marijuana, they must set clear limits for impairment behind the wheel and require mandatory drug testing following a crash,” said Deborah Hersman, former chairwoman of the National Transportation Safety Board.
What are your thoughts on this controversial topic?
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