By Adrianna McGinley
Drug involvement in fatal crashes has increased five percent over the last five years, according to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS).
To combat the growing danger of drugged driving accidents, the National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) and Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) announced their new partnership aimed at educating families and recognizing law enforcement efforts.
The ONDCP released a “Drugged Driving Toolkit” to educate parents, teens and community leaders in an effort to reduce the alarming number of teen deaths due to drunk and drugged driving. According to FARS, 23 percent of fatally injured drivers testing positive for drugs were under the age of 25.
The Obama administration has made it a goal to reduce drugged driving by ten percent by 2015, encouraging states to adopt laws making it illegal to drive while under the influence of illicit drugs. Seventeen states have already adopted these laws.