Should you be driving?

Aussie drink-driving laws have similar penalties, but our BAC level is still at .05. This will be moved to .02 in the coming years.
Be safe for you, your family and the person you may injure because, you thought you were ‘ok to drive!’

SHOULD YOU BE DRIVING? DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE....EVER!

TEST YOURSELF NOW

People Against Drink/Drug Driving

padd logo imageImagine if you had to tell a family that their child was never coming home again...because a driver had a few too many drinks and they were too lazy to get a taxi? How would you feel if it was your child? Your brother, your parent, your best friend? Now imagine that you're the one who had a few drinks and thought...Home isn't too far. I'll make it without getting busted. While on the back streets worrying if the booze bus will catch you, you hit someone. How do you live with that for the rest of your life?

Cannabis & Driving – Research continues to Affirm the Risks & Dangers of THC (Cannabis) Use and Driving (Labelling it ‘Medicinal’ doesn’t reduce risks)

The effects of cannabis and alcohol on driving performance and driver behaviour: a systematic  review and meta-analysis
Conclusions: This meta-analysis indicates that cannabis, like alcohol, impairs driving, and
the combination of the two drugs is more detrimental to driving performance than either
in isolation. (Source: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/add.15770 )

Simultaneous Alcohol/Cannabis Use and Driving Under the Influence in the U.S.
Conclusions: Overall, 2 in 5 drivers who used alcohol and cannabis reported driving under the influence of alcohol and/or cannabis. People reporting simultaneous alcohol/cannabis use were more likely to report cannabis-related driving under the influence. Prevention strategies should target individuals reporting simultaneous alcohol/cannabis use to reduce the occurrence of driving under the influence.  (Source: Am J Prev Med 2022;62(5):661−669. © 2021 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Effects of Combining Alcohol and Cannabis on Driving, Breath Alcohol Level, Blood THC, Cognition, and Subjective Effects: A Narrative Review
Conclusions: Given the prevalence of co-use of alcohol and cannabis, it is of interest to determine the effects of combinations of these drugs on driving. In the present review, we summarize the findings of studies that investigated the use of combinations of these drugs on driving. In general, it appears that combinations of alcohol and cannabis increase measurements of lane deviations and reaction time.
Findings of the effects of these drugs on speed are mixed. Despite evidence for additive effects of these drugs on driving, findings are inconclusive as to whether there are additive effects of cannabis and alcohol on blood THC or BrAC/BAC. In addition, human laboratory studies assessing neurocognitive task performance under the influence of alcohol and cannabis have found that divided attention task performance is particularly sensitive to the combination of the two drugs compared to either drug alone, though the evidence for other cognitive task performance is mixed. Converging evidence from studies of the effects of alcohol and cannabis co-use on cognition and subjective effects also points to an additive effect in some (Source: A.P.A. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology 2022, Vol. 30, No. 6, 1036–1049 https://doi.org/10.1037/pha0000533 )

Driving Performance and Cannabis Users’ Perception of Safety A Randomized Clinical Trial
Conclusions: Smoking cannabis ad libitum by regular users resulted in simulated driving decrements. However, when experienced users control their own intake, driving impairment cannot be inferred based on THC content of the cigarette, behavioral tolerance, or THC blood concentrations. Participant’s increasing willingness to drive at 1 hour 30 minutes may indicate a false sense of driving safety. Worse driving performance is evident for several hours postsmoking in many users but appears to resolve by 4 hours 30 minutes in most individuals. (Source: JAMA Psychiatry. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2021.4037 2022)

Changes in Traffic Crash Rates After Legalization of Marijuana: Results by Crash Severity
Conclusions: The estimated increases in injury and fatal crash rates after recreational marijuana legalization are consistent with earlier studies, but the effects varied across states. Because this is an early look at the time trends, researchers and policymakers need to continue monitoring the data. (Source:  Journal Studies Alcohol & Drugs https://www.jsad.com/doi/10.15288/jsad.2022.83.494 2021)

Correlates of driving after cannabis use in high school students
Conclusions: We found several correlates associated with driving under the influence of cannabis in adolescents, including probable cannabis dependence, various risky driving behaviors, pro-legalization attitudes, and low perceptions of risk associated with regular cannabis use. Efforts to reduce driving under the influence of cannabis should focus on targeting students who engage in a wide variety of risky behaviors, as these students may be at the highest risk of driving after cannabis use. In addition, interventions may benefit by addressing students’ relaxed attitudes towards cannabis use. (Source: Science Direct https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2021.106667 2021)

For more see Submission: Medicinal Cannabis & Driving – Is it an Issue?

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