Illicit drugs - common

Illicit drugs - rarer

Medicines  

Alcohol, kava & benzo tranquilisers

Road Victim Rights

Land Transport Act - seeking safer laws

In the last 2 years 121 NZ driver deaths involved excess alcohol - only 60 without drugs. 153 had concerning levels of risk drugs (124 had cannabis over 10ng), and 92 of the drug takers had no alcohol. 37% of the 15-19 year olds killed in year 1 used drugs (versus 12% drunk).

An analyses of the above results in C. Vergara's thesis (Waikato) found that the solely cannabis intoxicated drivers (over 10ng in blood) were at fault in 77% of their fatal crashes, versus the sole drinkers at 87%. Combiners or "poly-druggers" have ultra high risk.

As with alcohol the risk posed by the 4 internationally regarded risk drug classes (BACO - benzos, amphetamines, cannabis, opiates) rises with the dose. The International Council of Alcohol Drugs and Traffic Safety is the lead research agency, NZ is meant to heed Austroads guidelines and Austroads also dictates these are the prime drugs of  concerns. 

The top 2 drugs after alcohol

A body of evidence now indicates that cannabis (delta-9 thc not carboxy thc) and abused benzodiazepines are having similar influence on increasing traffic offences and crash rates, with cannabis trouble ahead by a nose or a tail depending on the locale. Drivers apprehended for erratic driving have most commonly used cannabis (Augsberger 60-80% of drug cases).

Not far behind (per Australian research) is opiates in some areas, and in NZ most District  or Coroner court cases of drug driving causing death in recent years have highlighted intoxication by either cannabis or the opiates (typically methadone with benzos added).

British research completed in 2006 found that of 166 deceased drivers blood samples containing benzodiazepines, opiates had (purposively) compounded the impairment. Most benzo impaired driving arrestees are poly-druggers (Christopherson, Abotnes 2000)

Candor's 2007 roadside survey found with a 95% confidence interval that a minimum of 8% of Kiwi drivers may drive under the influence of risk drugs daily. Only 2 countries have been found to (only slightly) exceed this. 

49% of those surveyed in lower socioeconomic areas under 25 by Candor admitted to having driven drugged at least once. A study of 150,000 U.S. drivers by Marowitz (1994)  found drug offence arrestees have 2.47x the single vehicle crash rate of others. 

Candor's much smaller scale survey of 200 found higher traffic offence and similarly raised crash rates among those who drove under the influence of drugs, here in New Zealand.

Over half of the drivers testing positive had experienced a reasonably serious crash and/or had a serious traffic conviction. Under 20% of drug users who reported never driving drugged had ever experienced an endangering crash. A third of subjects who reported ever having driven drug affected had been involved in a crash from which a vehicle was towed (28/81).

High drug driving rate skewing local DUI studies

Research published by the Ministry of Transport (Frith, Patterson et al) oddly gives Kiwis who are under 40 much higher odds of dying in a crash at any given alcohol level than citizens of other Nations who have drunk similar amounts.

This is likely due to poor methodology tainting the results we believe. Drug driving studies typically control or account for any added risk due to alcohol use. But the M.O.T. drink drive researchers apparently failed to account for NZ having one of the highest rates of cannabis intoxication in dead drivers found anywhere (ESR lead scientist told Christchurch Press).

Either of alcohol or cannabis are bad alone, but the combination even with low alcohol produces an extreme crash risk (Swann, Ramaekers et al). It is therefore no use for the M.O.T. to insert pretty arrows in their graphs showing an alleged NZ crash risk rating at the legal alcohol limit - in the hop of talking limits down. 

Because with dead NZ drivers we are clearly not just talking alcohol in over half of cases. This is cannabis country! Our roads are unsafe by Global Standards though not quite as bad as the worlds worst road - the coca highway of South America (bad terain + cocaine).

Despite the fact such data is not typically collected, the Department of Labour advises that drugs were known factors in 6 occupational driving deaths in 2007, with cannabis being the main culprit - and that this is no indication of the problems real scope.

Drug driving prevalence is not reflected in Court and official road toll statistics in NZ due to general non enforcement except in rare circumstances. Typical are cases such as the teacher whose registration was reinstated by teachers council in April 2002 after her conviction for possession of methamphetamine was quashed as she claimed it wasn't hers. 

She had been convicted only in relation to the "possession" and to concommitant careless driving causing injury x2 due to inattention and received a small fine. Circumstance suggest that she, like many others was guilty of more than she was charged of.

Athough Norway is not so drug soaked as New Zealand this country is well ahead with drug driving interventions and research. It has been found there that people with drug driving convictions are about 50% more likely to re-offend than drink drivers. And that drug drivers have high early mortality, so detection and rehabilitive treatment is made a priority.

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Why we're more at risk from DUI than ever - see graph at page top

90% of the road fatality toll occurs primarily due to driver error. In NZ the statistics show this is almost entirely explainable by the driver intoxication due to excess alcohol or risky drugs; given that for each such person killing themselves under the influence another innocent person is killed. Fatigue is commonly also in the mix with todays busy lifestyles. 

Professor Ferguson has lately revealed some results from the longitudinal Christchurch baby study run by Otago University. A cohort of 1000 youth now aged 25 were far more likely to drive drugged than drunk over the last 5 years, and consequently were twice as likely to have been responsible for a crash when under influence of drugs than of alcohol.  

The Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), a major U.S. database has shown that drug related crashes are more often multi vehicle ones than drink drive ones. This appears from recent studies to be because drug crashes are more likely to be in the day (Irish Medical Board study) when traffic volumes are higher.  

Foreign jurisdictions have experienced toll reductions since high profile policing of drug driving began. In Victoria the introduction of drug testing laws for road safety (now spread all over Oz) in 2003 helped their toll drop in 2 years from 450 to 346 (2005).  

Scandinavian countries drug test by trouble shooting of suspect impaired drivers and have low road tolls.  A 2 year campaign in Durham (U.K.) saw a reduction from 50% of dead young male drivers being on drugs, mostly cannabis, to none being at all. Malaysia halved motorcyclist deaths by introducing urine drug tests for them over holiday periods in 2006. 

Need to reduce dominance of the speed bunnies

Why the obsession with speed, and penalties to crush speeders while drink and drug drivers get VIP treatment ie ignored? It is impaired drivers behind 90% of the road toll.

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