Survey: driving-after-drugs rate climbing

According to a new U.S. survey, a growing number of teenagers don't think driving after smoking marijuana impairs their judgment; in fact, 19 percent of high school students admitted to driving while high.  

In the survey, released by Liberty Mutual Insurance and Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) February 22, only 70 percent of teens said marijuana was "very" or "extremely" distracting to their driving.

That's down from 78 percent two years ago, indicating acceptance of driving under that influence is going up, reports USA Today.

Only 13 percent of the 2,300 11th- and 12th-graders polled have driven under the influence of alcohol, and it seems generally teens are aware of the risk drinking-and-driving poses.

Of teens who admitted to driving after using either substance, 19 percent said alcohol didn't inhibit their motoring skills, while 36 percent said marijuana poses no risk of distraction.  

How do you stop teens from driving while intoxicated? Just ask them to. About 90 percent of teens polled said they wouldn't smoke-and-drive if a passenger asked them to, and 94 percent said they wouldn't drink-and-drive if asked.   

Thankfully, at least some teens are asking. The survey found 72 percent of teenaged passengers said they "would speak up and ask a driver who used marijuana to not drive," and 87 percent would ask the same of a drunk driver.

(USA Today)