Is it OKAY to Drive?
How Drugs Influence Driving Ability
IS IT OKAY TO DRIVE?
Any psychoactive substance can have some effect on your driving. Alcohol accounts for the most accidents - 28% of all traffic deaths in the United States, killing 10k+ Americans per year.
Alcohol decreases motor skills, short term memory, attention, and hazard perception, which strongly challenges driving ability. Alcohol reduces perceived risk, making users more likely to decide to drive erratically after drinking. The legal limit in CA is a BAC of 0.08%, but any amount of alcohol can impair driving.
THC affects attentiveness, vigilance, and perception of speed, all impairing driving and resulting in poor lane and speed control. Current research suggests that driving under the influence of marijuana is more dangerous than driving sober but less dangerous than driving drunk. This is thought to be because marijuana users tend to overestimate their impairment and overcompensate in how cautiously they drive. THC generally takes longer to clear a user’s system than alcohol, raising the possibility of an accidental DUI the morning after use.
When used together, alcohol and marijuana’s effects are both multiplied, resulting in much greater impairment than either drug alone.
Cocaine generally does not impair motor performance at small doses. While users are capable of driving well, most accidents result from reckless driving after consumption or during withdrawal from long term use.
MDMA is also a stimulant and therefore does not negatively affect alertness. MDMA can impair depth perception, movement perception, and attention which can impair driving along with its mild psychedelic effects.
LSD has not been well researched in conjunction with driving. However, strong visuals, hallucinations, and other visual effects make driving on LSD extremely dangerous. The same is true of psilocybin, found in mushrooms.
The safest solution is to always have a designated driver. Getting behind the wheel is the easiest way for your drug use to also harm others.
