Driving After Drug or Alcohol Use: Findings From the 1996 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse

• NCJ Number: 179073
• Author(s): Tara N. Townsend Ph.D.; Julie Lane Ph.D.; Carolyn S. Dewa M.P.H; Angela M. Brittingham M.A.
• Date Published: December 1998
• Length: 119 pages
• Contract Number(s): 283-95-0002
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Transportation National Highway Traffic Safety Admin; Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Admin (SAMHSA)
• Corporate Author: National Opinion Research Center (NORC)
• Sale Source: National Technical Information Service; SAMHSA's National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Statistics
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: DCC

Annotation

This report presents findings from questions included in the 1996 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse.

Abstract

The report describes the prevalence and patterns of driving following drug and/or alcohol use by 11,847 respondents, representing more than 166 million drivers age 16 and older in the United States. Compared to those who drove after drinking alcohol, those who drove after drug use were generally younger (age 16 to 20) and more likely to be single, unemployed, have a lower annual personal income, and to have been on probation in the preceding year. Driving following marijuana use most commonly occurred on smaller roads, in urban areas, on weekends and began between 6:00 and 11:59 p.m. The most common reasons for driving following marijuana use were that the drivers “had no other way to get there” and felt they were “not high enough to cause a crash.” These drivers generally felt that marijuana did not affect their ability to drive safely or their likelihood of being stopped by the police. Notes, tables, figures, references, appendixes