7 Series

Make
BMW
Segment
Sedan

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has released the results of a study regarding the prevalence of drug and alcohol positivity in road users involved in severe or fatal crashes. As you might imagine, the findings make for grim reading, especially as US traffic deaths have climbed in recent years.

The study used data from Level 1 trauma centers and involved 7,279 road users. Of the road users assessed, over half (55.8%) tested positive for some or other drug in their system. Cannabinoids were most prevalent in 25.1% of cases, followed by alcohol (23.1%), stimulants (10.1%), and opioids (9.3%).

It's important to note that the seriously or fatally injured road users assessed in the study were made up of drivers, pedestrians, and bicyclists. The NHTSA previously ran a similar survey known as the Virginia Beach study, but that one focused on crashes that mainly resulted in property damage or minor injuries. These latest findings aim to increase the agency's knowledge of serious crashes.

Worryingly, 19.9% of road users in the study tested positive for two or more categories of alcohol or another drug. The NHTSA says that using multiple substances is known as "polydrug use," The impairing effects are especially concerning as the various substances can interact with each other.

With regards to alcohol, the blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) were also measured. "People driving with high BACs remain a concern," said the study's summary, with almost 20% of drivers having BACs of 0.08 grams per deciliter or higher, which is above the legal limit. That's not as lethal as the Argentinian man who infamously set a record for having the highest blood alcohol level ever for a driver. However, it's still enough to increase the odds of a severe or fatal crash.

The NHTSA does note some limitations in the admittedly concerning study, though. It says that this data isn't necessarily a representation of the entire country, and it tested for the presence of some drugs, not necessarily levels that denote severe road user impairment.

Authorities want more to be done to counter this issue. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recently recommended that the NHTSA enforce alcohol or advanced driver-monitoring systems in cars. Obviously, manufacturers would be implicated by such a decision.

Fatigue detection systems are widely used in vehicles like the BMW 7 Series and Volvo XC90. Still, a system that monitors explicitly how sober a driver is would be another step in the right direction.

The NHTSA's study comes at a time when the industry is looking beyond low-speed crash safety. Volvo has introduced a 112-mph top speed limit across its range. It is conducting increasingly more extreme crash tests, while Toyota is one of several automakers aiming for zero crashes in the future.

Until technology makes cars safer and reduces or eliminates crashes, it's up to humans to take responsibility to help bring America's scary crash statistics down.