Newly released statistics have shown that almost 40% of Canadians, who have revealed that they smoke marijuana, have done so a mere two hours prior to sitting behind the wheel of a car. And even more astonishingly, a much higher percentage has admitted that they have been passenger in a car steered by somebody under the influence of marijuana. A staggering 80% revealed in the survey that they have entered a vehicle in the past which was under the control of somebody who had been using marijuana a mere two hours prior.
What The Public Believes
Within the same survey, 50% of marijuana consumers revealed that they do not think that using marijuana has any negative effects on their driving and associated brain functions. However, when looking at the percentages of all participants, we discover that a total of 75% of all respondents actually do believe that marijuana influence has a negative impact on people’s ability to drive.
What Science Tells Us
Fortunately, we have research to tell us the truth on this matter. During the earliest stages of research, all experiments were conduct in labs only and through the method of simulation. Throughout these studies, it was continuously proven that, above a certain limit, cannabis within the system will lead to impaired psychomotor skills within a person. These skills make up the vital basis required for safe driving. It should be noted though, that a lot of these experiments are non-translatable to real life and thus do not include the complexity of navigating real world roads.
To correct this error, additional, observational studies were conducted on this matter, which corrected many of the lab studies’ shortcomings. Throughout these studies, the researchers examined the correlation between marijuana consumption and motor vehicle accidents with fatally injured drivers, in comparison to the same statistics among the general public. From this resulted the discovery that drivers who consumed marijuana two hours prior to entering their vehicle, were at an increased risk of becoming involved in a collision.
To build on this, controlled research studies were conducted which resulted in largely inconsistent results, with only little over 50% declaring an increased risk under the influence, whereas the rest declared no relation between the two. Additional culpability studies and case-controlled studies between drivers under the influence and not under the influence also came back inconsistent when comparing the numbers of how many were found liable for causing the accidents. That is why Injury Lawyer in Mississauga are expecting an increase in injury claims due to such accidents. Not everyone is cautious about taking precautions and not driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol.
