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Over 40% of deceased drivers in vehicle crashes test positive for THC: Study

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Re: Over 40% of deceased drivers in vehicle crashes test positive for THC: Study

#151

Post by assimpleaspossi »

swimorsinka wrote: post #46
epistasis wrote: post #7

Based on the headline, I was guessing it was any amount of positivity, and may be close to the population level, but it's actually impairment levels of THC: > In a review of 246 deceased drivers, 41.9% tested positive for active THC in their blood, with an average level of 30.7 ng/mL — far exceeding most state impairment limits. Since COVID in CA, it feels like driving has become far more dangerous with much more law…

We've seen the same uptick in reckless driving in CO since Covid. Reddit Denver complains about it all the time. I think it's happening everywhere, and it's not clear why.

Cause there are fewer police watching and there are no consequences for these people's actions.

Re: Over 40% of deceased drivers in vehicle crashes test positive for THC: Study

#152

Post by reactordev »

squigz wrote: post #130
nobodyandproud wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s not the relevant bit. A blood test detects recent use of THC. Which other, less invasive methods cannot. Like alcohol, impairment is highly individual and so we set a threshold.

It is not a reliable indicator of recent use though, since it can also indicate past use. I agree we need to set a threshold for impairment. I just want that to be measured reliably so that people who had a brownie last weekend aren't getting in trouble.

THC leaves the bloodstream within 24 hours just to be clear.

I know this is a giant hairball and the downvotes and passionate discussion is why I said what I said but in the end, until we have a breathalyzer for THC, it is what it is.

Re: Over 40% of deceased drivers in vehicle crashes test positive for THC: Study

#154

Post by modeless »

epistasis wrote: post #7

Based on the headline, I was guessing it was any amount of positivity, and may be close to the population level, but it's actually impairment levels of THC: > In a review of 246 deceased drivers, 41.9% tested positive for active THC in their blood, with an average level of 30.7 ng/mL — far exceeding most state impairment limits. Since COVID in CA, it feels like driving has become far more dangerous with much more law…

If you're in San Francisco, the city essentially stopped issuing traffic tickets when COVID started. It's no wonder lawlessness increased. https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/xMUFt/mobile.png

Re: Over 40% of deceased drivers in vehicle crashes test positive for THC: Study

#155

Post by zoklet-enjoyer »

y-c-o-m-b wrote: post #76
zoklet-enjoyer wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Come to Fargo. I see it multiple times a year. Usually right after a new semester starts and the farm kids don't know about one ways haha

I'm not talking about one-ways, those are confusing in general. I'm talking about clearly marked off-ramps from freeways. In one situation the person had to drive over a fairly large bump in the median just to enter the wrong side of the freeway; again many signs to prevent such a thing and they still ended up in that predicament. Sometimes miles down the freeway before a cop pulls them over. It's terrifying. I saw a…

Oh. That's completely different and frightening whereas what I see isn't too dangerous and is more comical

Re: Over 40% of deceased drivers in vehicle crashes test positive for THC: Study

#156

Post by BiteCode_dev »

macNchz wrote: post #91
Benjammer wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Since COVID in CA, it feels like driving has become far more dangerous with much more lawlessness regarding excessive speeding and running red lights, going into the left lane to turn right in front of stopped cars, all sorts of weird things NYC has had the same effect since COVID, and over the last year or two it's gotten to the point where every single light at every busy intersection in Manhattan you get 2-3 cars…

It’s a very widespread problem, I think, and probably has a complex mix of causes, but my perception as a NYC runner, cyclist, and driver is that there’s a fairly small percentage of extremely antisocial drivers who we allow to behave badly with relative impunity, which itself moves the Overton window of driving behavior towards aggression/chaos, so to speak. Very frequently when there is a newsmaking incident in whi…

For these reasons, many countries have adopted a point-based system for driving licences. E.G: in France you have 12 points, driving over the speed limit is a fine, but also removes up to 6 points depending on the speed.

If you go down to 0 points, your licence is suspended.

If you stay without a fine for long enough, you get back points.

Some countries have fines that depend on how much you make. Some countries will destroy your car if you really behave badly.

Re: Over 40% of deceased drivers in vehicle crashes test positive for THC: Study

#157

Post by reactordev »

xienze wrote: post #78
Arainach wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On the contrary: we should test for the actual issue (impairment) rather than an arbitrary number.

So you’re advocating that a cop makes a subjective judgement about your impairment level? I don’t see how anyone could find an issue with that.

Field. Sobriety. Tests.

"Say your ABC's backwards starting from Z"

Re: Over 40% of deceased drivers in vehicle crashes test positive for THC: Study

#158

Post by reactordev »

mantas wrote: post #86
reactordev wrote: post #29

Just noting there’s a difference between THC in your system and THC in your blood. THC leaves the bloodstream after your high. Goes into fat cells and other areas to be broken down and processed (up to a month) later. Having it in the bloodstream after an accident means they were intoxicated at the time according to science. Whether their CB1 receptors were letting it through is another matter. I can smoke a lot of w…

It should be the other way around. If there’s no good way to test, then no driving with any THC in blood.

so we're all going to subject ourselves to blood sampling to get behind the wheel?

Re: Over 40% of deceased drivers in vehicle crashes test positive for THC: Study

#159

Post by Aurornis »

Some helpful context: The number of Americans age 12 and older who report using any marijuana product at least once in the past year is around 20% (Source https://apnews.com/article/marijuana-cannabis-alcohol-use-di... ) if I use one of the highest reported use numbers I can find.

Even if you dismiss all of the questions brought up in these comments like the use of mean levels instead of median, not accounting for tolerance of habitual users, or debates about the threshold for impairment, the 40% number in this study is without a doubt far higher than the number of people who have detectable levels of THC in their blood at any given time.

I see a lot of attempts to downplay the result of this study in the comments, but 40% having significant THC in their blood is a stunning statistic no matter how you look at it.

Re: Over 40% of deceased drivers in vehicle crashes test positive for THC: Study

#160

Post by macNchz »

carlmr wrote: post #128
macNchz wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s a very widespread problem, I think, and probably has a complex mix of causes, but my perception as a NYC runner, cyclist, and driver is that there’s a fairly small percentage of extremely antisocial drivers who we allow to behave badly with relative impunity, which itself moves the Overton window of driving behavior towards aggression/chaos, so to speak. Very frequently when there is a newsmaking incident in whi…

>it turns out that they got dozens of speed camera tickets per year To me the answer is quite simple for any of these. Treat repeated small infractions like bigger and bigger infractions. E.g. double the cost every iteration if it happens within a specific time frame. Ok, you speed once? $100. Twice $200. Thrice $400. And so on. We only reset if you don’t reoffend for any speeding in 5 years. If you want to speed 20…

I have noticed this going between Switzerland and Italy in particular—all of the cars going incredibly fast on the autostrada seem to have Swiss plates!
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