BACKGROUND: Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death among youth aged 16−25 years in the United States. Use of marijuana alone and in combination with alcohol has been shown to impair driving abilities. The objective of this study is to describe national trend estimates of driving under the influence of alcohol, marijuana, and alcohol and marijuana combined among persons aged 16 and older, using data from SAMHSA’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) from 2002–2014.
METHODS: Unweighted sample sizes for the 2002–2014 survey cycles were 980,153 respondents aged 16 and older. The study reports on survey year prevalence estimates and calculates the percentage change between two year estimates from 2002 and 2014. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine temporal trends.
RESULTS: During 2002–2014, the prevalence of driving under the influence of alcohol alone significantly declined by 59%, 38%, 29%, 31%, 17% among persons aged 16–20 years, 21–25 years, 26–34 years, 35–44 years, 45–54 years, respectively. Data from 2014 show that underage (<21 years) drinking and driving still occurs as early as age 16 years. However, the prevalence of driving under the influence of alcohol alone significantly increased by 40% and 52%% among persons aged 55–64 years, and 65 and older, respectively. In addition, the prevalence of driving under the influence of alcohol and marijuana combined has significantly declined by 39% among persons aged 16–20 years and 21–25 years, respectively. However, it significantly increased by 300% among person aged 55–64 years. The prevalence of driving under the influence of marijuana alone has significantly increased by 400% among person aged 55–64 years.
CONCLUSIONS: Overall, the prevalence of driving under the influence of alcohol alone has significantly declined for most age groups. However, the prevalence of driving under the influence of alcohol and marijuana combined and marijuana alone has increased in older populations. Both youth and adult driving under the influence of any psychoactive substance is an important public health problem that requires the attention of parents, health officials, law enforcement, and federal and state officials. Additional research and surveillance data are needed to better understand the magnitude of the impact of driving under the influence of psychoactive substances, especially marijuana, in order to ensure public road safety.