Category Archives: Driving

Driving, Drug Policy

Passing MORE Act means 6,800 more deaths a year

The MORE Act, which may be voted on by the full House this week, would legalize marijuana nationally.  But it also could lead to upwards of 6,800 more traffic deaths a year, as well as other problems.   Please write Congress to say NO to the MORE Act, and no to MORE deaths.  (The MORE Act would go far beyond  decriminalization and lead to national legalization.)

A Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) study showed how statistics from the first four states to legalize pot, could be used to estimate the increase of traffic fatalities if we adopted national legalization.  These deaths are preventable. 

Recent events show how marijuana worms its way out of regulation.   Yesterday San Francisco City Council voted to ban smoking in apartment buildings, but excluded marijuana. According to AP: “The original proposal sought to ban residents from smoking marijuana in their apartments, but supervisors voted to exclude marijuana after cannabis activists said the law would take away their only legal place to smoke. It’s illegal under state law to smoke cannabis in public places.”

California residents who voted on Proposition 64 believed that children would not see billboard advertising. However, the industry pushed for it and the industry got it.  Fortunately, a judge ruled that the billboards violate the proposition.  

Colorado allows billboard advertising for marijuana, but the city of Denver does not.  State regulatory bodies give extraordinary privilege to the sellers of this dangerous drug, even though tobacco advertising on billboards is not allowed and even though selling the drug goes against federal law.   

Yesterday a marijuana delivery driver was robbed and beaten in Maine. Despite Maine’s small, carefully designed marijuana program, assaults on marijuana deliveries occurred three times. A drug that makes users violent and promises the industry huge profits cannot be “regulated.”

California, Driving

Marijuana-impaired drivers pose threat to bicyclists

On October 23, a 21-year-old woman drove through a California neighborhood and rear ended a cyclist riding in front of her.  The cyclist died at the scene, but the driver survived.  Police detected the strong smell of marijuana in her car. 

Police charged the driver, Korina Machuca, with DUI and vehicular homicide.    Detectives in Fresno County say they’ve seen a rise in drug-related crashes.  Last year they had 54 drug-related crashes, but this year 141 crashes involved drugs.

Tracing bicycle deaths of 3 children and 5 adults killed by marijuana-impaired drivers shows how justice for victims is reduced after marijuana decriminalization and legalization.

Continue reading Marijuana-impaired drivers pose threat to bicyclists →
Driving

Marijuana DUI crashes in Illinois rise

Many recent crashes in Illinois suggest that pot users think it’s safe to drive after toking, or they simply don’t care.  Prior to the decriminalization of marijuana, Illinois experienced less than 1000 vehicle deaths each year.  In 2016, the year of marijuana decriminalization, traffic deaths rose to 1078. In 2017, 1091 people died from fatal crashes on Illinois roads, and 1038 died in 2018. 

With decriminalization, Illinois raised the marijuana limit from zero THC  to 5 ng of THC.   When politicians talk of decriminalization or legalization, they signal to the public a belief that pot is harmless.

On May 31, the day legislators passed a legalization bill, Erik McKay drove recklessly and killed a passenger, Continue reading Marijuana DUI crashes in Illinois rise →

Driving

Hit-and-run crashes on rise; 3 girls and one adult die

3 Girl Scouts killed and adult killed in alleged hit-and-run

A hit-and-run driver killed three Girl Scouts and an adult supervisor who were picking up trash along a Wisconsin highway.  Wausau ABC affiliate WAOW reported the incident. The driver turned himself in …later.

The marijuana proponents tell their friends to run – because they know the THC level leaves the blood (but NOT the brain) very fast – losing 80-90% from the blood within the first hour after smoking.

BUT an oral saliva test is positive for longer and should be performed in ALL of these cases…. immediately.

Are pedestrians targeted by drivers?

Another hit-and-run incident occurred in Colorado on Halloween.  The crash seriously injured a 15-year-old girl who was trick-or treating.  On Saturday, authorities arrested Kaitlin Golden who told them she thought she hit a deer.

The #1 cause of driving fatalities is drugged driving (NOT alcohol alone driving).  The number one agent after alcohol is marijuana.

Back in Wisconsin, a fourth Girl Scout remains in the hospital, in  critical condition.  The girls, fourth graders,  wore brightly colored vests which could easily be seen.

Colton Treu, 21, of Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, allegedly left the scene, but later surrendered to authorities and was arrested, WAOW reported.  The crash occurred late Saturday morning in the village of Lake Hallie, about 95 miles east of Minneapolis.

Deadly week for children

The incident comes at the end of a particularly deadly week for children hit by cars.

In the deadliest crash, three siblings died when they were hit by a pickup truck while boarding a bus in Rochester, Indiana, on Tuesday. A 9-year-old was struck and killed while crossing the street to board a bus in northern Mississippi on Wednesday, and a second-grader in Pennsylvania was killed when struck by a vehicle at a bus stop on Thursday.   We mourn the loss of these children.