Simultaneous Use of Alcohol and Marijuana while Driving Increases Risk of Road Accidents among Teens: Study

A new study by the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research in Ann Arbor found that "simultaneous use" of alcohol and marijuana increases the risk of unsafe driving by 50 to 90 percent.

The researchers asserted that the teens' dare devil attitude and the combined effects of booze and pot could lead to dangerous road accidents.

For the study, experts observed data of nearly 72,000 high school students who took part in a study titled "Monitoring the Future" conducted between 1976 and 2011. It was supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

At the end of the research almost 21 percent of the respondents confessed to drinking occasionally and smoking up together. These students were more likely to engage in risky driving than those who only drank or smoked marijuana.

"It's well known that both drinking and other drug use are linked to risky driving. But this suggests that it's not only the frequency of substance use that's important. The patterns of drug use are also related to the risk of unsafe driving," said Yvonne Terry-McElrath, study author and researcher at University of Michigan.

It was also found that 40 percent of the teens taking drugs and alcohol together received a speeding ticket and were warned against traffic violation. About 30 percent of them had met with an accident. However, the study could not identify the exact reasons for students to engage in such behavior (the drinking and smoking).

However, the silver lining was that the overall intake of alcohol and marijuana by youngsters significantly reduced during the study period, Only about 12 percent of the students smoked weed in 1979 compared to just one-third of the participants during 2011.

The study emphasizes on raising awareness against the harmful impacts of consuming alcoholic beverages and drugs simultaneously.

"Driver's education needs to talk more about the risks, in believable ways-not using inaccurate scare tactics. We often hear the message 'Don't drink and drive. But we don't hear much about the risks of using additional substances, either alone or simultaneously with alcohol," adds Terry-McElrath.

More information is published online in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.

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