IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT DRIVING DRUNK

It took years of education and cultural conditioning to achieve the
sharp attitude adjustment necessary to make drunk driving socially
unacceptable.

The next challenge is to convince people that driving while stoned is
just as reprehensible - and dangerous.

A worrisome study emerged this week indicating that drugged drivers
may be more of a problem than people think.

In a small survey done of B.C. drivers, more people were driving at
night with drugs in their system (10.4%) than alcohol (8%). Overall,
17% tested positive for drugs, alcohol, or both, according to the
Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse (CCSA).

In a sign that the anti-drunk driving message is resonating, drivers
aged 16 to 18 who were tested showed no signs of alcohol use but a
small proportion of them had drugs in their system.

Middle-aged drivers aged 45 to 54 led the pack in positive drug tests.
At first blush, that seems odd given that drug-taking is viewed as
mainly youthful behaviour.

But the 1,500 drivers were tested for a variety of drugs, both legal
and illegal, and even painkillers can have profound effects on driving
behaviour, says CCSA policy analyst Doug Beirness.

The drugs most frequently found were pot, cocaine, opiates, and pot
and cocaine in combination. As well, while the incidence of
alcohol-impaired driving was stronger on weekend nights, drug use was
constant throughout the week.

CHALLENGE

'We're facing a huge challenge. But, at the same time, I think that
we've learned a lot of lessons over the last 25 years or so in the
drinking-driving field," says Beirness. "Maybe we've primed the public
to the whole idea of 'don't drink and drive' so 'don't use drugs and
drive' might be an easier sell."

The B.C. study is only the second Canadian study on drug-impaired
drivers. A Quebec study about eight years ago tested drivers' urine
samples and found about 11% tested positive for drugs.

However, those drivers could have used drugs a couple of weeks
earlier. The B.C. drivers who volunteered for the study were given
breath and saliva tests to measure very recent drug and booze use.

A similar but larger survey of drug-impaired drivers was done in the
U.S. earlier this year by the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration but the results won't be released until next year.

"We know that alcohol (use) is relatively common and to find that
there are more people out there using drugs before they drive than
alcohol was astonishing," says Beirness. "People still don't think the
use of drugs impairs their ability to drive a car."

As well, many people may not be aware a new law allows the police to
conduct mandatory roadside sobriety tests on drivers suspected of
being impaired by drugs. Suspected offenders can also be required to
provide blood, urine or saliva samples. Refusal to comply means a
$1,000 fine for a first offence.

DRUG IMPAIRMENT

So far, there are about 300 police drug recognition experts across
Canada trained to test drivers for drug impairment. "Do we need more?
Yeah, we do. Are we working on it? Getting there," says Beirness.
"There has to be a credible threat of being caught in order for people
to think twice about doing it."

Too bad police didn't nab James McIlwrick before he killed two people
and injured two others when he crashed head-on into another vehicle in
2003 outside Edmonton while high on pot. He was jailed for three years
last month and banned from driving for 10 years.

Druggies beware. Drive stoned and you could be hanging tinsel from a
jail cell.