NHTSA Reports on Drug Involvement in fatal crashes

Drug Involvement of Fatally Injured Drivers – The issue of Traffic Safety Facts, developed by NHTSA’s National Center for Statistics and Analysis, presents drug test results for fatally injured drivers from 2005 – 2009. It shows that there was an increase in the percentage of fatally injured drivers (who were tested and whose results were known) who tested positive for drugs. According to the report, 63 percent of the 21,798 drivers who were killed in motor vehicle crashes in 2009 were tested for drugs. Of these, 3,952 tested positive for drug involvement, representing 18 percent of the total for that year. The report also showed the presence of drugs reported by the states among fatally injured drivers increasing from 13 percent in 2005, to 18 percent in 2008. It is important to note that the presence of drugs does not necessarily mean that the driver was impaired at the time of the crash or that drug use was the cause of the crash. To see a press release regarding this report, go to: http://www.nhtsa.gov/PR/NHTSA-16-10. To access the report, go to: http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/811415.pdf.