Drug-Impaired Driving by Youth Remains Serious Problem

From NIDA Large numbers of American adolescents are putting themselves and others at great risk by driving while under the influence of illicit drugs or alcohol, according to a study funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). In 2006, 30 percent of high school seniors reported driving after drinking heavily or using drugs, or riding in a car whose driver had been drinking heavily or using drugs, at least once in the prior two weeks. These findings are based on data obtained from the Monitoring the Future study, in which nationally representative samples of high school seniors have been surveyed annually since 1975. The data analysis is published in the November issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. We have seen such results of driving drunk in our own commnities, but there seems to be little effort reported to change drinking behavior.