DEADLY

Drug-Driving Crashes Rival Drunk Driving

Almost 40% of dead drivers used drugs.

A report released Tuesday found that drug use among U.S. drivers is increasingly becoming as big of a threat to roadway safety as drunk driving. According to the study, released by the Governors Highway Safety Association, the number of dead drivers who tested positive for drugs jumped to nearly 40 percent in 2013 from 29 percent in 2005. Using federal data from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, the study points to a four-fold increase in prescription-drug use since 1999 as well as the legalization of marijuana in some states as factors behind the increase in traffic fatalities. “Marijuana is by far the most common drug that is used, found in roadside surveys, and found in fatally injured drivers,” the report said.