A government study on Tuesday showed that about 20 percent of drivers killed in car crashes in 2009 tested positive for drugs.
The new data illustrates a growing problem of drivers operating under the influence of illegal substances.
However, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, authors of the study, could not ascertain if drugs were the determining factors behind the crashes, stating that the affects of drugs on driving ability are not clear.
“Drugged driving is as inexcusable as drunk driving or driving irresponsibly,” said David Strickland, a federal highway safety agency official, said in The Boston Globe.
The tests found traces of drugs in about 18 percent of the 22,000 driver deaths in 2009. In 2005, 13 percent of the 27,000 deaths were linked to drugs, according to an article by The Associated Press.
Drivers were tested for heroin, methadone, morphine, cocaine, methamphetamine, marijuana, LSD, prescription drugs and inhalants. The tests did not take into account aspirin, nicotine, alcohol or drugs taken after the crash.
But, the amount of time the drug stays in the body varied by type of drug, so it’s uncertain when the drivers had used the drugs before the crash.
“It’s very clear that we’ve got a significant problem,” said Gil Kerlikowske, the White House Drug Policy Director, to The Associated Press. “We’ve made great progress on alcohol-impaired driving through education and enforcement. There’s just no reason we won’t be able to make progress in this area once we start bringing it to people’s attention and we start doing the enforcement that’s needed.”
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