Tag: alcohol

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Cannabis Won’t Make You More Sober (Yep, Some People Think That)

Many times I’ve referenced data showing that more than half of all traffic fatalities in Washington involve an impaired driver. When stated without more context, it’s easy to reach a false conclusion about impaired driving, and here’s the myth: If half of all fatal crashes involve impairment, lots of people must be driving impaired. In reality, few people drive impaired, and a recent survey of Washington drivers confirms it.

Continue reading “Cannabis Won’t Make You More Sober (Yep, Some People Think That)”
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DUI – It’s Not Just Booze Anymore

What kind of behavior do you visualize when you hear the terms ‘impaired driving’ or DUI? If your mind translated the word ‘impaired’ to the word ‘drunk’ or DUI turned into ‘driving under the influence of alcohol’ that would be understandable, but no longer entirely accurate. Impaired driving is changing, or more accurately, has already changed in Washington.

Impaired driving is the leading contributing factor in Washington fatal crashes, and has been for many years, but the dominant form of impairment is no longer just alcohol. Of the 565 traffic fatalities in Washington in 2017,266 involved an impaired driver. Of those 266 drivers, 181 of them had been drinking alcohol and 200 of them were impaired by drugs. That adds up to a lot more than 266, and that overlap is where we encounter poly-drug impairment;using two or more impairing substances at the same time. You can probably guess the most frequently combined substances: alcohol and cannabis. By 2016 poly-drug drivers involved in fatal crashes were more than twice the number of alcohol-only drivers and more than five times the number of cannabis-only drivers.

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Shaq Wants You to Drive Like You Give a #&%@!

Does adding a celebrity to a traffic safety PSA make it better? We’ve had quite a variety of traffic safety PSAs here in the PSA smash up. Some are gory, some are sentimental, some are sad, some are funny. We’ve even posted a previous celebrity PSA with Helen Mirren (one of my favorites). Ultimately, the goal of a PSA is to get the viewer to change a behavior; in our case, stop dangerous driving behaviors. When Shaq tells you to drive like you give a #&%@, are you inclined listen? Continue reading “Shaq Wants You to Drive Like You Give a #&%@!”

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The Cost of Dangerous Driving in Whatcom County

Q: It seems like there have been a lot more serious crashes than normal lately. Is my perception accurate or have crashes just been making the news more often?

A: Unfortunately, your perception is disturbingly accurate. Over the past ten years, we’ve averaged about 15 lives lost due to traffic crashes. In 2015 and 2016, 11 and 12 people died in crashes, respectively.  So far in 2017, 20 people have been killed in traffic crashes in Whatcom County. That’s approaching our worst record in over a decade, 21 deaths, which occurred in 2008. And there are still two more months left in the year. These aren’t just numbers. Each data point is a tragedy for the family and friends of the person who died. Continue reading “The Cost of Dangerous Driving in Whatcom County”

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Sex and Intoxication

Sex and intoxication. Did that get your attention? If so, this article is probably not what you think it is. We’re focusing on the less salacious but still very important issue of a person’s biological sex as a significant factor in alcohol impairment; a big deal when it comes to impaired driving. Rather than responding to a single question, this article is prompted by conversations I’ve had with people about impairment levels and driving. Continue reading “Sex and Intoxication”

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You Won’t Get A DUI For Being High On Life

It’s the holiday season, and in the world of traffic safety that coincides with extra emphasis patrols for impaired drivers. DUI patrols are happening all across the state, so I thought I’d share one of the PSAs that we’re using right now to get out the message that DUI is not just for alcohol. Impairment includes legal drugs, illegal drugs and prescription medications. If you’re just high on life, you’re still good to drive. That’ll make more sense after you watch the video.

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Real Driving Stories – Rochelle

Every year during the holidays we launch our impaired driving emphasis patrols and remind everyone of the dangers of impaired driving. Rather than hearing it from me, I thought it would be better to let someone who has experienced a DUI arrest tell her story:

I want to publicly thank Rochelle for her willingness to tell her story. It takes courage, and courageous people change lives. Thanks also to Ziad at MyTrafficMan.net for collaborating on this project.

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Disturbing Trends in Impaired Driving

When it comes to impaired driving, how are we doing? Since the 1970’s, the message has consistently been, “If you drink, don’t drive,” and “Friends don’t let friends drive drunk.” The laws have become stricter, the penalties have become steeper. But has it worked?

A few years ago I could have confidently answered yes, or at least had an optimistic outlook. We were on track, with fewer fatalities from impaired driving every year. But then the situation changed. What happened? The answer is pretty simple: Continue reading “Disturbing Trends in Impaired Driving”