POLICE ASSOCIATION OF NOVA SCOTIA 103 Driving UnderThe influence Help your teen understand the dangers of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Impaired driving refers to driving a motor vehicle while impaired by any type of drug or medication or combination of drugs, medications, and alcohol. These can include cannabis, illegal substances, mindaltering prescription medications, and overthecounter remedies and medications that affect an individual’s ability to drive safely. Your teen may be old enough to drive a car or any motorized vehicle like an ATV or dirt bike or operate farm machinery, lawnmowers, boats, or other moving vehicles. Young drivers are already at a higher risk of road accidents, as new drivers often lack experience behind the wheel. They should know that just like alcohol, cannabis in any form – including edibles – can seriously impair the ability to operate machinery or vehicles of any kind. Studies show that driving high nearly doubles the risk of an accident, and a study commissioned by DFK Canada in 2017 found that over one third (37%) of teens feel that driving high is not as risky as drunk driving, while one in four high school seniors say they have ridden in a car with a high driver. There are a few common misperceptions regarding drugs and driving among youth: • Impaired driving is not a serious problem; • Cannabisimpaired driving is safer than alcoholimpaired driving; • Some drug use does not adversely affect driving ability; • Some drug use improves driving ability due to compensation strategies; and • The likelihood of being pulled over for impaired driving is low. The Effects of Drugs on Driving: CANNABIS Cannabis significantly affects the skills necessary for driving. Cannabis causes euphoria, slowed thinking, confusion, impaired memory and learning, increased heart rate and anxiety. These effects are felt within minutes, peak after about half an hour and can last up to two hours. Research shows that impairment increases significantly when cannabis is combined with alcohol. Driving while on cannabis demonstrates slowed thinking, which delays reaction time to important events occurring on the road. It also distorts time and distance perception, making it difficult for the driver to navigate turns into oncoming traffic. Concentration and attention span are also decreased, increasing the likelihood that the driver will be distracted from watching the road. The crash rate of cannabis users can be anywhere from two to six times higher than sober drivers, depending on the duration and quantity of the drug. Considerable evidence from both real and simulated driving studies indicates that cannabis can negatively affect a driver’s attentiveness, perception of time and speed, and ability to draw on information obtained from past experiences. Myths & Facts about cannabis impaired driving MYTH: Weed does not affect my driving – it’s not like alcohol. Half of cannabis users do not think that their driving is affected that much – and 1 in five don’t think it has any negative affect on their driving.1 FACT: Cannabis and alcohol may have different effects on the body, but both impair a person’s skills behind the wheel. Cannabis continued
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