DETROIT– A horrific crash that killed six high school students in Oklahoma two years ago has the head of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board urging parents to warn teens about the risk of driving after using marijuana.
President Jennifer Homendy made a plea to parents Thursday as her agency released the final report on the collision of March 22, 2022 between a small Chevrolet Spark hatchback and a gravel semi-trailer in the small town of Tishomingo.
The board, after an investigation by its staff, determined that the accident was caused by the 16-year-old driver who slowed for an intersection and then sped through a stop sign because she was likely impaired by recent marijuana use and was distracted by having five teenage passengers in the car, the NTSB report said.
In an interview, Homendy also said that the cannabis problem is not limited to teenagers. As more states legalize recreational marijuanaTeenagers and adults tend to underestimate the risks of driving under their influence.
“There is a perception that in states where it is legal, it is safe and legal to drive under the influence of marijuana,” she said.
In its report on the accident, the NTSB cited studies showing that marijuana decreases motor coordination, slows reaction time and impairs judgment of time and distance, all critical functions for driving.
It is currently legal for people 21 and older to use marijuana recreationally in 24 states plus Washington, D.C., according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Oklahoma does not allow recreational use, but like most states, it is legal for medical purposes. Driving under the influence of marijuana is illegal in all states and Washington, D.C.
The NTSB, which investigates transportation-related crashes but has no regulatory power, issued a safety alert Thursday urging parents to talk to young drivers about how marijuana can impair driving and how they can make responsible choices. to avoid driving while impaired or impaired. disabled drivers.
Homendy said states that have legalized marijuana are behind in making sure people know it’s illegal to drive under its influence. More than half of Americans live in a state where recreational cannabis use is legal, she said.
“Unfortunately, I think the state laws legalizing the recreational and medical use of marijuana have really come before any thoughts or actions about what they will do regarding traffic safety,” Homendy said. “They are way ahead on legalization, but way behind when it comes to traffic safety.”
States, she said, need to collect more data on how marijuana legalization has affected traffic safety and need to start enforcing laws against driving under the influence of marijuana.
“Inspection has to exist to deter,” she said.
A study of crashes in Washington state, which legalized recreational marijuana use, showed that more drivers involved in fatal crashes tested positive for marijuana after it became legal, the NTSB said.
In Tishomingo, about 100 miles southeast of Oklahoma City, six high school students got into a car designed to carry four for a lunch break, the NTSB report said.
At an intersection, the driver slowed to 1 mile per hour (1.6 kilometers per hour), but accelerated and did not come to a complete stop for a sign. Instead, she sped up and turned left in front of the gravel truck. The truck driver braked and swerved to avoid the Spark, but crashed into the driver’s side at just under 50 miles per hour. All six teens died from multiple blunt force injuries.
Tests of blood taken from the driver’s body found a THC concentration of 95.9 nanograms per milliliter, the NTSB said. If such a level of THC, the main chemical component of marijuana, were found in a living person, it would indicate “a high probability that the person had used cannabis very recently and was therefore likely still experiencing acute, harmful effects from cannabis.” , the report said. report said.
But the NTSB warned that blood samples from body cavities can sometimes be contaminated by other bodily fluids or by THC from other tissues, including the lungs, which can contain high concentrations.
Additionally, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol found vape nozzles and cannabis buds in the car at the scene of the crash, the report said.
The NTSB recommended in the report that the Oklahoma State Department of Education develop a drug and alcohol abuse curriculum for local school districts that informs students about the risk of driving under the influence of cannabis. Currently, only Massachusetts and Rhode Island have such course requirements, the NTSB said.
The agency also wants the Highway Safety Governors Association, a group of state highway safety officials, the National Conference of State Legislatures and the National Association of State Boards of Education to inform members about the Tishomingo crash and the need for information about cannabis in school and driver. education course.
The safety association said in a statement that cannabis-impaired driving is a growing safety concern, and state highway safety offices are focused on eliminating all impaired driving.
“We need to start communicating well in advance to children that driving, ingesting, smoking or inhaling marijuana is harmful and a risk to them and others,” Homendy said.
This story originally appeared on ABCNews.go.com read the full story
