Responsibility.org and the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) have teamed up for the 3rd year in a row to fight drug-impaired driving. In May, GHSA released its new report on Drug-Impaired Driving: Marijuana and Opioids Raise Critical Issues for States. The report presents new research to examine the impact of marijuana and opioids on driving ability and provides recommendations for states.
In 2016, 44% of fatally-injured drivers with known results tested positive for drugs, up from 28% just 10 years prior. More than half of these drivers had marijuana, opioids, or a combination of the two in their system.
Responsibility.org believes that alcohol-impaired driving and drug-impaired driving can no longer be treated as separate issues and addressed in silos. Drug-impaired driving is a complex issue in need of more research and resources. That’s why we have worked with Shaquille O’Neal, GHSA and the National Sheriffs Association to train more than 1,000 law enforcement personnel to detect drug-impaired drivers. This year with GHSA we awarded grants to Idaho, Minnesota, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont to train another 500 law enforcement officers.