MORE B.C. DRIVERS HIGH THAN DRUNK

B.C. drivers are more likely to be under the influence of drugs than
of alcohol, a new survey suggested yesterday.

Preliminary findings from the 2008 British Columbia Roadside Survey
found that 10.4 per cent of people driving at night showed evidence of
drug use. By comparison, 8.1 per cent of drivers had consumed alcohol.

"We've spent the past 25 to 30 years dealing almost exclusively with
alcohol and driving," said Doug Beirness, senior research and policy
analyst at The Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse (CCSA).

"We've had some pretty good success with that regard. We haven't
solved the problem, but we made gains. Now we're finding that there is
this other problem, lurking behind the alcohol problem that has to do
with drug use. That's disturbing."

The data, released yesterday by the CCSA, is part of a larger report
that will be released in 2009. The survey interviewed 1,533 drivers in
June in Vancouver, Abbotsford and Saanich. In all, it found that 16.9
per cent of people on the road had consumed drugs, alcohol or both
prior to driving. The most common drugs used were marijuana and cocaine.

"Some people think that smoking a joint doesn't impair you, but it
does," said Const. Dave Babineau, a spokesman for RCMP traffic
services in B.C.

"It changes your judgment. It changes your perception. It changes your
reaction time. All of those things are very critical when you are
driving a motor vehicle."