DRUGS THE NEW CHOICE FOR YOUNG IMPAIRED DRIVERS

While the message that drinking and driving kills has registered
after 25 years of awareness campaigns, the use of drugs behind the
wheel is on the rise, according to a B.C. study.

A survey of 1,500 drivers conducted by the Canadian Centre on
Substance Abuse in June found that while 8.1 per cent of nighttime
drivers tested positive for alcohol, 10.4 per cent showed evidence of drug use.

The most common drugs were cannabis, cocaine, opiates, and cocaine
and cannabis in combination. Age was not a factor, the study showed.
Drivers 45 to 54 led drivers testing positive, in part because
researchers were also testing for legal drugs that can impair driving.

No 16-to-18-year-olds tested positive for alcohol, but a small
portion tested positive for drugs.

"The good news is that drinking and driving appeared to be on the
decline," said Doug Beirness, senior policy analyst at the CCSA and
lead researcher of the study. "But the messages about drugs and
driving don't seem to be getting through."

A 2004 study found that drugs were detected in as many as 30 per cent
of fatally injured drivers, Beirness said.

The latest results were not a surprise to Mothers Against Drunk
Driving, which expanded its mandate beyond alcohol years ago in
keeping with the increased use of cannabis among youth.

"The problem with youth is that they're under the false impression
they're better drivers when they smoke," said Marie Claude Morin of
the Montreal chapter.

The B.C. survey was done over four consecutive nights. Drivers were
pulled over by police, then asked by researchers to volunteer for
anonymous testing with no risk of arrest. Researchers used
breathalyzers for alcohol and saliva tests for drugs.