DRUG ABUSING DRIVERS RING UP ALARMING STATISTICS

Researchers are urging the federal government to put more money into
training drug recognition experts after a new study about drug and
alcohol use by drivers found that drug use by drivers is nearly as
common as motorists getting behind the wheel after a beer.

The study, completed earlier this year by Canadian Centre for
Substance Abuse in five cities around B.C., including Kelowna, found
that one in 10 drivers stopped at the roadside during the study had
alcohol in their system, and one in 14 had consumed drugs, said
researcher Erin Beasley.

That number was even higher in Kelowna, where on one of the four
nights researchers were in the Central Okanagan, one in five drivers
tested positive for drugs.

Data from the first two nights researchers were in Kelowna in June
were lost by a courier, but even with only two nights of data, Kelowna
data showed 14.7 per cent of drivers were high, above 13 per cent in
Prince George over four nights and the 7 per cent range for
Abbotsford, Saanich and Vancouver.

About three-quarters of the drug samples in Kelowna were for
marijuana, followed by 18 per cent for cocaine and 7.1 per cent for
opiates.

A total of 2,840 driver were stopped for the survey during the hours
of 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. on a Wednesday to Saturday night, with 534 of
those being in Kelowna.

Some 63.7 per cent of Kelowna drivers submitted to an oral fluid
sample to test for drugs and 82.8 per cent submitted to a
breathalyzer.

The study, initiated by the Superintendent of Motor Vehicles, grew out
of a need for reliable and valid estimates of the prevalence of drug
or alcohol use by drivers and followed statistics from fatal crashes
in Canada from 2000-07 that showed that a third of drivers killed in
crashes had drugs in their system, just behind 37 per cent of fatal
crashes where alcohol is involved, researchers indicate.

"Its much closer than we would have ever believed," said researcher
Doug Beirness.

And the data indicates the time of day doesn't matter for drug use,
whereas alcohol use and driving is more of a weekend phenomenon.

He says they are just "scratching the surface" of the issue of drugs
and driving and said the federal government needs to put more money
into enforcement, as there are only 620 drug recognition
experts--officers who are trained to identify drug impaired drivers--in
the country.

More education and prevention are also needed, said
Beasley.

The researchers also found decreasing alcohol use by drivers since
they began studies in Vancouver and Saanich in 1995 and say most
drivers are below the warn level of .05.

However, of concern is the number of drivers who blow over twice the
legal limit.

Kelowna has more drinkers than the average in the study, but many are
social drinkers, falling below .05, said Beasley.

Beasley and Beirness presented their findings to Kelowna RCMP on
Friday afternoon. The full study is expected to be released in January
and will be posted on the Canadian Centre for Substance Abuse website
at ccsa.ca .