Drugged driving is on the rise according to a recent report. More drivers in fatal accidents had both prescription and illicit drugs in their system, compared to alcohol.
Sergeant Rene Gonzalez with Michigan State Police says he's not surprised... And sometimes, people don't even realize they're breaking the law:
"You'll find a lot of people who are on prescription medication, since it's prescribed they think it's ok to use and drive,” Gonzalez said. “But what they don't understand is that it's impairing their driving. That makes it dangerous for themselves and anybody else."
He says drugged driving is harder to deal with than drunk driving, because when a cop pulls somebody over who's on the influence of drugs... It can be hard to detect. With alcohol, you can smell it on their breath.
"It is a little bit harder since you don't have that odor,” Gonzalez said. “So what we have to go to is their mannerisms, their eyes, how they're breathing, how they're talking to us. So we have to look for those certain things so it makes us work a little bit harder when we're dealing with drugs in the system vs alcohol."
To stop this rise on drugged driving, Gonzalez says police in Michigan go through a program that helps them spot the signs. There's also a new saliva strip that can tell if a person is high on marijuana-- it'll be tested in five Michigan counties. Gonzalez thinks having that strip might cause people to stop and think before getting behind the wheel.
"If they know it's going to be easier for officers to know they're impaired for a controlled substance, it might change their mind about driving a vehicle after using a particular drug," Gonzalez said.
He believes the best way to stop this problem is through education.
“We need to get it out there that and let everybody know that it is illegal to drive under the influence of drugs, even if it's prescription medication," Gonzalez said.
