South Bay Youth Takes On Drugged Driving

(South Bay)— Think alcohol is the only substance that impairs drivers? Think again. Drugged driving is now a public health and safety issue on our roads and highways.

According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), in 2009, one-in-three drivers killed in motor vehicle crashes who were tested had drugs in their systems.

In response to the increase in drugged driving, the South Bay Youth 4 Change—a local group of high school students who work to increase their communities health and safety by reducing underage drinking and drug use in the South Bay—are partnering with the Chula Vista Police Department during the March 7th DUI checkpoint.

At the DUI checkpoint, youth distributed developed informational flyers from the Marijuana Prevention Initiative on the consequences of driving under the influence of drugs.

“I’m doing this because I want to see a change in my community”, said Alexander Rodriguez, South Bay Youth 4 Change. “My cousin was killed by a drunk driver and I wish we can make a change for future generations,” he said.

Recent statistics reveal that 30 percent of drivers in fatal crashes had one or more drugs in their systems. Marijuana was most prevalent, at 7.4 percent, slightly more than alcohol. In the majority of the cases there is more than one substance.

“This is the reason why other cities in San Diego need to train more officers as DRE’s,” said Margarita Walker, Police Officer and DRE instructor at the Chula Vista Police Department.

This year Chula Vista and National City Police Departments added police officers trained as Drug Recognition Experts (DRE) to the checkpoints. Chula Vista Police Department has the second highest trained DRE police officers in San Diego County.

The intent is to recognize impairment in drivers under the influence of drugs other than, or in addition to, alcohol. Training includes a 12-step process for evaluating suspected impaired drivers, sorting out which category of drugs are involved and gathering evidence through blood tests.

California law penalizes those who drive while under the influence of illegal drugs, including marijuana and prescription drugs. However no specific levels have been established to determine the impairment.

A prosecutor can convict a drunken driver with evidence of 0.08 percent blood-alcohol level – but there’s no such legal limit for drugs. Nevada state for example, has a per se drugged driving law enacted for cannabis, cannabis metabolites, and other controlled substances.

“The consequences are the same,” said Officer Walker “Drug-impaired driving is a growing problem, but remains under enforced, we need to continue getting drugged drivers off the road and setting per se limit in San Diego.” she said.

A successful response to this problem holds the promise of improving highway safety and avoiding fatalities. This will be achieved by developing per se limits for drugged driving by using field-testing equipment and lab capacity to detect and document impairment levels.

In the ongoing commitment to lowering deaths and injuries upon our streets and highways, the Chula Vista and National City Police Departments will be conducting additional DUI/Driver’s License Checkpoint and saturation patrols throughout the year.