AAA Says: More Weed, More Fatal Car Crashes

A recent traffic safety study has found that the number of fatal car crashes in one Western state has risen alarmingly since the Weed was legalized.  The AAA Foundation studied the number of THC positive involved in positive drivers involved in fatal crashes is alarmingly high – more than double the percentage of drivers before legalization.  THC is the main psychoactive component in cannabis, and the detection of THC is suggestive of recent or frequent use.

The study looked at five years before the became legal in Washington state under the initiative 502.  The number of drivers testing positive for THC in their system is 18 percent which is doubled the 9 percent before the change.

This report echos concerns that people in other legal weed states have expressed.  "The more weed on the block, the more dangerous the streets have become," one Colorado resident told us.   And the news is getting worse for drivers in the state of Washington.   The most recent data shows (2017) shows an estimated 21 percent of drivers involved in fatal crashes in Washington.

“Marijuana can have an impairing effect on drivers, reducing their attentiveness and ability to react to the environment around them, including driving defensively.  It can also cause drivers to wander more in their lanes,” says AAA Idaho Public Affairs Director Matthew Conde.  “Research shows that driving after using marijuana may as much as double a driver’s odds of causing a crash.”