Stoned drivers: As bad as drunk drivers?

New data reveals that many drivers get behind the wheel after smoking pot, spurring calls for the cannabis equivalent of a blood-alcohol test

A car accident in Chula vista, Calif.: In California alone, as many as 1,000 car accidents and fatalities are blamed on drugged drivers, according to new data.
(Image credit: Richard Eaton /Demotix/Demotix/Corbis)

Drunken driving is still a major problem — alcohol was a factor in 32 percent of U.S. traffic-related deaths in 2009 — but drugged driving is on the rise, too. New data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says many drivers are impaired by legal and illegal drugs, and marijuana is especially prevalent. From 1999 to 2009, the number of car crash fatalities where drugs were the primary cause, and no booze was involved, jumped by 55 percent. Here, a brief guide:

What have studies found about drugged drivers?

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