WASHINGTON — The number of drivers on the road with alcohol in their systems has declined by nearly one-third since 2007, but there has been a large increase in drivers using marijuana and other illegal drugs, a government report released Friday found.
The report by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said the share of drivers who test positive for alcohol has declined by more than three-quarters since the agency first began conducting roadside surveys in 1973.
But the latest survey also found that nearly one in four drivers tested positive for at least one drug that could affect safety.
The anonymous surveys have been conducted five times over the last 40 years. They gather data in dozens of locations across the country from drivers who agree to participate.
Mark Rosekind, head of the safety administration, credited anti-drunk driving efforts for the decline, but said “there is no victory as long as a single American dies in an alcohol-related crash.”
About 8 percent of drivers during weekend nighttime hours were found to have some alcohol in their system, and 1.5 percent were found with .08 percent or higher breath alcohol content — the legal limit in every state. The number of drivers with any alcohol in their systems is down by about 30 percent from the previous survey in 2007 and 77 percent from the first survey in 1973.
At the same time, the number of weekend nighttime drivers with evidence of illegal drugs in their systems climbed from 16.3 percent in 2007 to 20 percent in 2014. The number of drivers with marijuana in their systems grew by nearly 50 percent over the same period of time.
“The rising prevalence of marijuana and other drugs is a challenge to everyone who is dedicated to saving lives and reducing crashes,” Rosekind warned.
A second survey, the largest of its kind, assessed whether marijuana use by drivers is associated with greater risk of crashes. The survey found that marijuana users are more likely to be involved in accidents, but that the increased risk may be due in part because marijuana users are more likely to be part of demographic groups at higher risk of crashes generally. In particular, marijuana users are more likely to be young men — a group already at high risk.
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