People Against Drink/Drug Driving

Anyone claiming they’re “fine to drive” after a couple of beers may think again after seeing the results of a scary test in Japan.

We’ve all heard it: “I’m fine, mate”, “It’s only 10 minutes away”, “I’m not coming back for my car tomorrow”.

But anyone claiming they’re “fine to drive” after a quiet couple of beers might want to think again after seeing the results of a peculiar test undertaken by this Japanese driving school.

Marking 17 years since the tragic drunk driving death of three small children in the city of Fukuoka, authorities opted for an unorthodox approach to getting the message across.

Chikushino Driving School has now begun offering controlled drink-driving experiences as part of a police campaign to convince motorists to never drink and drive.

Two reporters from the local Mainichi Shimbun newspaper took the test to see exactly how just a few drinks can impair someone.

The participants are asked to navigate three road sections, including a slalom, S-bend, and tight curves. First while sober, and then again after a social amount of booze.

One of the reporters, Hyelim Ha, was then told to down a 350ml can of beer, along with cups of umeshu plum wine and shochu spirit over about an hour.

A breathalyser test on Ha indicated an alcohol level of 0.30mg per litre of breath, twice the threshold of 0.15mg.

Despite saying she felt confident to drive, as many do, Ms Ha’s driving ability plummeted. But not in a way that she would immediately notice herself.

Drink driving causes approximately 30 per cent of fatal crashes in Australia, with over one in four drivers and passengers killed showing a blood-alcohol content over the legal limit.

In 2022, there were 1192 road fatalities in Australia, marking a 5.6 per cent increase on 2021. While fatalities have generally decreased over the past decade, from about 1300 to 1100 per year, there were 107 deaths on Australian roads in March alone.

For complete story   Alex Blair

Channel 7 released news on State governments Cannabis and Driving Trials…“It is currently illegal for residents to drive while under the influence of THC, the main psychoactive chemical in marijuana.

Victorian medicinal cannabis users will be put through a closed-track trial to see when it’s safe for them to get behind the wheel. The 18-month trial will look at the level of impairment medicinal cannabis can cause.

It will not take place on public roads to ensure there’s no safety risk to participants or members of the public, a government spokeswoman said.  Victorian medicinal cannabis users will be put through a closed-track trial to see when it’s safe for them to get behind the wheel. The 18-month trial will look at the level of impairment medicinal cannabis can cause.

It will not take place on public roads to ensure there’s no safety risk to participants or members of the public, a government spokeswoman said. “Safety on our roads is our No.1 priority,” the statement read. “This trial will give us more data about when medicinal cannabis patients can safely drive on the road.” (source: 7NEWS)

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So, another trial? But why?  Extensive research has been done globally on this issue around THC and driving impairment, and pretty much all of it uncovers what we intuitively know, that is DOES! Ah, but there was some ‘outliers’ and one such ‘study’ was from a Melbourne based University. A group commissioned by pro-cannabis legalisation groups to conduct a study. 

Not unsurprisingly, the findings in this study were far more ‘agnostic’ and even producing a finding that THC and driving wasn’t really a problem – for ‘medical users’ of course!

We here at People Against Drink and Drug Driving will be interested to see where this ‘study’ will land - in agreement with the current research or contra to it?

See also 

• 'Medicinal’ Cannabis & Driving – Is it an Issue? (DRR)
• Cannabis & Driving – Research continues to Affirm the Risks & Dangers of THC (Cannabis) Use and Driving
• Legalizing Cannabis and Impaired Driving – Canadian Report
• Cannabis Effects on Driving Performance: Clinical Consideration
• ‘Medical cannabis’ and Driving, Australia (AJGP 21)
• Expanding Law Enforcement Training, Forensic Lab Capacity and Research to Better Detect Cannabis Impaired Driving

Drinking and driving continue to be a serious problem, but it has been eclipsed by drugging and driving – such is the power of ‘education’. Education against drink driving and education for ‘normalising’ drug use.

View PDF

Acusensus, best known for its mobile phone detection cameras, is developing cameras that can detect drug and alcohol-affected drivers.

It says it plans to roll these out in Australia and overseas.

The Melbourne company is working with the Federal Office of Road Safety and Griffith University to develop AI-based technology that will measure the driver’s attentiveness, reaction time, control and determine impairment levels, all in real time.

Using driver behaviours like speeding, trajectory patterns, and lateral movements within lanes, the technology is able to send information to local police officers to enforce fines and take further action.

In a real-world deployment, the hardware can be placed anywhere at any time but will at first be tested in a stationary trailer a few hundred metres from police patrol cars.

The software uses a four-step process: deploy, capture, automated analysis and review.

At a very high level, the software will capture images of passing vehicles through a number of cameras, infra-red flash, lensing and a filtering system, and then feed it into an AI-based software that will detect potentially drug- or alcohol-affected drivers.

The system will then review and send the images to police officers for an in-person verification to determine if officers are required to pull over and test the affected driver.

For complete article

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?