Australian Study Of 2,500
Injured Drivers Showed Those Who Used Marijuana
Less Likely To Have Caused Accident Than Even Drug-Free Drivers –
But How Do The Swedish Prohibitionists Report It?
(Ed. note: Watch the DEAland media for reports
of this study. Squint really, really hard.
A more complete version will be available soon.)From The Canberra Times
letters.editor@canberratimes.com.au
http://www.canberratimes.com.au/
October 21, 1998
STUDY GOES TO POT
ADELAIDE: Drivers who use marijuana are less likely to cause road
accidents than drunk drivers or even drug-free drivers, a study has found.
The study, the most comprehensive of its kind in the world,
prompted researchers to warn against diverting resources from anti-drink driving campaigns
to campaigns against driving under the influence of drugs. Conducted by a team from the
University of Adelaide’s pharmacology department and Transport SA, the study used
analyses of blood samples from 2500 drivers injured in accidents in
South Australia.
In their attempt to define whether cannabis and other drugs played a large role in road
accidents, researchers used information from the police report on each crash to determine
whether the injured driver was culpable.
Drug-free drivers caused the accidents in 53.5 per cent of cases.
Injured drivers with a blood-alcohol concentration of more than 0.05 per cent were
culpable in nearly 90 per cent of accidents they were involved in.
Drivers with cannabis in their blood were less likely to cause an accident, with a
culpability rate of 50.6 per cent.
Meanwhile in Stockholm, we couldn’t make this up…
Press release October 20, 1998 from the Hassela Nordic Network in Stockholm.
NEARLY 25% OF ALL SOUTH AUSTRALIAN MOTORISTS INVOLVED IN
NON-FATAL CRASHES TESTED POSITIVE FOR DRUGS
According to a Transport SA survey, released on October 18, nearly 25% of all South
Australian motorists involved in non-fatal road crashes tested positive for drugs.
The survey, using compulsory-acquired blood samples of 2.500
drivers hospitalised after such accidents, is the largest
survey of its kind in the world.
Motorcyclists are more likely than car drivers to test positive for cannabis, and more
than a third of drivers who tested positive for alcohol, had blood alcohol levels over
three times the 0.5 legal limit. Alcohol remains the leading cause of road accidents.
Supported