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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

#211
post #91

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…

[deleted]

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

#212

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I've been a daily user for over 10 years and also have a spotless driving record. I knew a guy who drove home from bars unquestionably over the legal limit (example: 4-5 drinks in 90 minutes) every single weekend for years without getting caught or getting in accident. It doesn’t mean he wasn’t impaired.

That's not quite the same though. The claim is that because I'm a habitual user, I'm always impaired. Which amounts to over 100k miles of impaired driving over the last decade.

Being freshly high is probably 2 quick beers, I'd think I was baseline after maybe 45 minutes. A massive edible might be 5, and I'd take like 3 hours I'd guess.

Alcohol is so much more impairing. I think just being a daily user isn't the issue. It's the proximity to last use and obviously quantity.

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

#213
post #128
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…

Some countries have a points system, where every infraction gets points in addition to the fine. At a certain amount of points you lose your license. Pretty effective dissuade serial petty infringers!

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

#214

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 to…

The number of people who report using it is only a rough proxy for the number of people who are using it, though.

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

#215
post #204
post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, it would be good for the rest of us on the road if people driving two tons of murder box are 0% impaired. I'm no angel but I have gotten more diligent... I'm just reacting to "the degree". The goal has to be zero degrees of impairment when a moment of inattention can kill. Also, my son was just hit by a driver while he was on a bike and in the bike lane. They claimed not to see him. He's fine thankfully but it'…

There are some occupations where we aspire to that low level of risk. But it would mean that driving can't be an everyday activity for ordinary people. No driving if you haven't been getting proper sleep; no driving if jet lagged. No driving if your attention is impaired by grief, stress, or impatience. Or if your annual physical reveals a risk. Or if you've ever had psychological complaints. We should absolutely mak…

That's probably not the thing to tell a parent whose kid just made a dent and a black smudge on a MachE. I don't want to over index on the "think of the kids" argument, but we don't take driving seriously enough. Wikipedia says:

    Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of preventable death for people aged 5–22, and the second most common cause for ages 23–67.
The linked article is astounding. The attitude in this thread is astounding, too. Because driving is ubiquitous and necessary in most of the US, we've become too accepting of the problems. Yes, if you're hitting the vape pen every day you should absolutely not be driving. Jetlagged? Take an Uber. Stroke risk? Give us the keys.

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

#216
post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm replying to a comment suggesting that this data may be close to population levels rather than something different in the autopsy population. I'm arguing that if the population data looks anything like the autopsy data, it would imply a massive epidemic of THC overuse.

> it would imply a massive epidemic of THC overuse. Not really, due to THC content in the body not being a reliable indicator of impairment or even time since use. If BAC were more like THC levels, I suspect the data would show 40% or more of the population has consumed alcohol - or, in your words, is drunk "at any given moment"

My quote from a specialist disagrees with your assertion. Have anything to support your statement?

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

#217
post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow, pretty much no one I know drives under any influence regardless what they use. I wonder how many of these people were under the influence of alcohol and other substances.

The number of times I've heard "I'm good" honestly breaks my heart. Only to have people call me "Hermoine" etc (I am a straight cis man). I wonder what's the best way to talk about this

Report to police anonymously and have them stopped might be an option. If you can't convince them the money might.

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

#218

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah I feel like the United States could dramatically improve its road safety if it kept maybe 1-3% of its drivers off the road permanently.

the problem is that our urban planning is so F@#$ed that taking away someone's ability to drive is tantamount to sentencing someone to poverty. In most of the country, you are completely dependent on a car to hold down a job, get groceries and pretty much anything else. In most other countries, not having a car is a mild to moderate inconvenience you can work around.

>the problem is that our urban planning is so F@#$ed that taking away someone's ability to drive is tantamount to sentencing someone to poverty.

We're talking about NYC, they'll be fine without cars.

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

#219
post #196

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What the heck? How can you get that many tickets and still have a license? (Or manageable insurance costs for that matter lol)

Unless you live in NYC or a handful of other places, an adult in the US who can't drive (or afford to pay someone to drive for them) is in the equivalent of economic-social prison. Almost all personal transportation infrastructure is designed around car travel, anything else is at best an afterthought and at worst impossible. Don't get it twisted, I agree with you. The US is far too tolerant of dangerous driving. We…

I'm just shocked that you can have that many offenses and not be in jail. I nearly lost my license in high school with FAR less than 30 incidents. That amount of leeway just doesn't make sense at all, you're so obviously a danger at that point.

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

#220
post #75

My question is, what is the difference in vehicle death mortality since cannabis was legalized in those parts of the country. If it's about the same, it just tells me that cannabis is a very popular drug.

From what I understand, the effect of legalization (or decriminalization) on the amount of cannabis use is not straightforward at all. You'd have to factor that in somehow.
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