RI Drugged Driving Deaths: Second Highest Increase in U.S.

SOUTH KINGSTOWN, RI—Where's the most dangerous place in Rhode Island for running into drugged drivers? According to a new study America's Loaded Road from Alcoholic.org, the answer is Washington County, which leads the state for drugged driving fatalities.

And who's behind the wheel? The typical drugged driver is most likely to be male and under 34 years old.

And what drug did he take? Nationwide, one in four drugged driving fatalities involve marijuana.

According to the study, which claims to have crunched the numbers from more than 20 years of data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Rhode Island is second in the U.S. for the biggest increase in drugged driving, and that's almost entirely due to Washington County.

"Indeed, the majority of Rhode Island reports low rates of drug-related traffic incidents; however, one outlier — Washington County — stands out with higher rates of drug-related traffic incidents," the study reported. As a result, between 2014 and 2015, the year of the study, drugged driving in Rhode Island was up 250 percent, making it the state with the second biggest spike after Arkansas, which was up 365 percent.

The goal of the study was to pinpoint the counties and states where the problems are happening and identify the substances involved in these accidents.

"Across all three states, men were more likely than women to drive under the influence of illicit substances. The largest gender disparity in drugged driving was seen in Rhode Island, where men were to blame for over 95 percent of drugged driving deaths," the study said.