Nearly one in five drivers who died in a car crash in the U.S. last year tested positive for drugs, according to the U.S. highway-safety regulator.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 18 percent of drivers died with drugs in their system, up from 13 percent in 2005. Sixty-three percent of the 21,798 drivers who died in accidents in 2009 were tested, according to news reports .
“Today’s report provides a warning signal that too many Americans are driving after having taken drugs, not realizing the potential for putting themselves and others on the highway at risk,” NHTSA Administrator David Strickland said in the statement. The study is the agency’s first analysis of drugged- driving deaths.
The study found both illicit and prescription drugs in the systems of the dead drivers from crashes from 2005 to 2009.
As a North Charleston car accident attorney, , I’m shocked to see the number of drug-related car accidents so high. Many times, drivers avoid driving warnings on prescription medicines and view drinking and driving as more dangerous than driving under the influence of drugs. I hope people can learn from this study and understand that drugs are just as dangerous, and no one should ever drive with any drugs in their system.