Three Things That Can Happen To Your Ability To Drive While Under The Influence of Marijuana

In December we recognize National Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention Month.  Often we focus a lot on the drunk driving piece of the month and don’t spend a lot of time on the dangers of driving while under the influence of drugs.  Both drinking and driving and doing drugs and driving are very dangerous and can lead to a New Haven auto accident so it is important that we focus some attention on the dangers of driving while under the influence of marijuana specifically.

Depending on your preferences you may be out at a holiday party and instead of drinking alcohol you may want to partake in smoking marijuana or taking the drug in a different way then smoking it.  Regardless of how or when you engage in ingesting marijuana you should never get behind the wheel of a car while under the influence of the drug.  While the drug affects your body and mind in different ways then alcohol does it most certainly has a dramatic affect on your ability to operate a vehicle in a safe and legal way.

When you are under the influence of marijuana you can experience some of the following effects on your mind and body;

1.) Impaired coordination.  As you might expect your coordination is critical to your ability to drive a vehicle safely.  Even the smallest impact on your coordination from the use of marijuana could lead to you getting into an accident and being injured or worse.

2.) Slowed reaction times.  You must be alert at all times when you are driving and if you are not, you may find yourself in a situation where you are not reacting in time to changes in conditions on the road and therefore you can put yourself in a situation where you may get injured.

3.) Reduction in your ability to make quick decisions.  You may not realize it, but every day you are driving you are making quick decisions that impact whether you get to your destination safely or not.  When you are under the influence of marijuana your ability to make these quick decisions slows down and it can lead to you not making the right decision or not making the right decision in a timely manner.  Therefore you may find yourself in a situation where you are injured from an accident that could have been prevented had you not been under the influence of marijuana.

It can be difficult to study the true impact that marijuana can have on ones ability to drive a motor vehicle because the drug stays in your system for many days after you’ve originally taken it and therefore it could still be in your system even though it may not be affecting your ability to drive.  If you get into a New Haven auto accident it may be detected in your blood stream, even a few days after the time when you smoked it.  However, just because it is difficult to study, doesn’t mean that researchers don’t know that it has significant impacts on your ability to operate a vehicle safely.  If you are driving under the influence of marijuana you are putting yourself and your passengers at greater risk of injury or death.

Be safe this holiday season and if you do get yourself into a situation where you are injured in an accident, regardless of whether drugs were involved, contact our office and one of our experienced attorneys will review your case and work with you to protect your long-term interests.