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40 Comments
- Burento, on 08/13/2008, -3/+25Weed can totally effect the way you drive. Even just being tired when you drive can be deadly.
- adayahead, on 08/13/2008, -7/+27This should be required reading for anyone who has ever had a drink, a toke or a sniff, then got behind the wheel of a car. thanks for posting.
- NewsFeed, on 08/13/2008, -1/+17Great article... I have always been to worried about the risk to drink and drive. My father was an EMT so I got the scary stories young enough i guess.
- IvanAndreevich, on 08/13/2008, -0/+10This should be long obvious to anyone.
Actually, the most ***** up thing you can ever do is drink and ride (a motorcycle). My friend's car got totalled by a drunk who died in that accident. Friend is suffering some long term back injuries now. - thesparrowband, on 08/13/2008, -2/+8why are we digging him up? he's wrong. it still effects your reaction time. maybe you wont be put in the situation where you need to quickly react every time you drive, but if it happens, being high will not help you.
- Solo011, on 08/13/2008, -2/+8Last year, while a junior in high school, i got into a bad car accident. I had a car show the next day, and my car was covered in cleaner in my garage. I asked my mother to take out her car, a BMW 5 series, for the first time. I had literally never driven her car before. I had just left my house and approached the first intersection on the way to a store. I had a green light and was the first to go across the intersection. A driver was trying to make a left turn, and while on a cell phone, made the left right into my car as i was going straight. I woke up with smoke pouring from the engine compartment, in a daze on the floor. I was surrounded by fire trucks and police cars. I found out later that the side curtain airbags in that car saved my life as well as having my seatbelt on. My car did not have side curtain airbags, and if i had been in it, i would be dead. The one time i take out my mothers car, this happens, and having her car saved my life. I ended up being in the hospital for two weeks and was in a neck brace for a month, but it could have been much much worse. Let this be a warning to everyone who drives not only under the influence of drugs and alcohol, but distracted driving as well, such as talking on a cell phone.
- Naieve, on 08/13/2008, -2/+8Most of the people I have heard talk about problems driving after smoking weed relates to them being paranoid about other drivers and driving too slow.
- lukas88, on 08/13/2008, -2/+8Weed affects everybody differently. To say that it doesn't affect driving is incorrect. True, there are a few people out there that claim that it doesn't affect their driving, and they may be right, but I also hear people say that about their ability to drive after drinking alcohol.
Don't take the chance. This is the only aspect of the "war on drugs" that I can get on board with. - TheThirdLevel, on 08/13/2008, -0/+6Goddamn I was about to start ***** shaking the dude's hand through the screen. Inspiring story, I say we should start having a maturity test before we let people drive.
- inactive, on 08/13/2008, -2/+7Studies? Then it must be true!
- LeonHRodriguez, on 08/13/2008, -0/+4A little first-hand perspective is in order.
I can say, with absolute certainty (for me, anyway), that driving while high is a very, very bad choice. Your reaction time is definitely a lot slower and you're prone to make poor (ridiculous) choices while on the road. Once, I pulled up to a stop sign and waited for it to change; no lie.
Where I'm from (BC), the police now treat people who are high (not necessarily on weed, either) the same as they would someone who was drunk. You must provide a saliva sample and if you are deemed be too inebriated to drive, there's a good chance you'll lose your license on the spot. - Frejesal, on 08/13/2008, -0/+3How heartwarming! It's cool that they let him slide despite being one credit short.
- SuperVepr308, on 08/13/2008, -0/+4Drinking and driving is crazy but people still do it. I used to myself and I would bet most people have at one time or another. Truly a stupid mistake but most people still cling to the phrase, "I'm OK to drive" How many of us have heard that ***** at a party or bar? I don't know how we are going to stop people from doing it but I hope we can.
- SilentBobSC, on 08/13/2008, -0/+3@Burento - *A*ffect, not *E*ffect.
Second, I don't care what anyone THINKS or has HEARD but weed does affect one's reaction times, slowing them significantly. The fact that many people smoke and drive does not make it right, and if we are to have ANY hope of legalizing / decriminalizing the stuff then these ridiculous arguments need to stop. *IF* it does become legal, expect to see it packaged like cigarrettes and enforced like alcohol. - Atomic05, on 08/13/2008, -1/+4I have nothing against drinking or smoking, but if you don't mind could you please just leave it the ***** alone before you drive somewhere? Any change in mental state can be dangerous when operating a moving vehicle no matter what speed you travel or how careful you think you are.
If you won't drive sober for your own sake, then at least do it for the drivers around you. - Krstln, on 08/13/2008, -0/+3Actually I have to say that the "Every 15 minute" thing they did at my school was pretty intense. They took kids from our school, had the grim reaper walk around to classes touch kids on the shoulder and they went with them and no one knew why. Then at 5Th period we all went out to this huge car crash scene down the road with blood all over the place and real cops and kids got flown away in helicopters. The next day we had a "funeral" for all our friends who died that day then they all came back of course. A year later before this one of my best friends was changing a CD in her car, lost control, ran off the highway and ended up being ejected out of her car and died in some guys back yard. She wasn't wearing her seat belt....
- inactive, on 08/13/2008, -0/+3Not uncommon. I was 2 credits short and they let me graduate college. And nothing special like that happened to me. I think it is a fairly common practice, especially if you're a good student.
- inactive, on 08/13/2008, -1/+3@Burento
Ya that is true.
But, Did you know that smoking weed impairs you less that drinking dose, to a point, literally. They actual figured out what BAC point level weed impairs you to and found that after you hit that point of intoxication the effects will actually level off (stop climbing), unlike alcohol. Also it's interesting to note that comparatively, the intoxication level of weed is quite low and easly passed when drinking alcohol.
Not that people should drive when smoking, I'm just pointing out that weed is the lesser of 2 evils. - Frejesal, on 08/13/2008, -1/+3Whoever dugg this guy down is a dick. People need to stop talking on their cellphones while driving, because sometimes the consequences are more than just morons coming to a full stop in the middle of a parking lot and blocking traffic.
- monsterette, on 08/13/2008, -0/+2...oddly familiar for me...those events do change your approach to what life gives you...good article!
- nesagwa, on 08/13/2008, -0/+2Nothing more I looked forward to in Highschool than the yearly "scared straight" car crash reenactment.
Like being show abortion photos in sex ed class. - GreatDrok, on 08/14/2008, -0/+2Back when I was a student doing my undergrad degree, I was home one summer and my next door neighbour had recently had an accident in his car but he and his girlfriend survived because they were wearing their seatbelts. He spent most of the summer repairing the damage, replacing pretty much the whole front end. Got his car back on the road and then someone offered him a swap for a flash sporty coupe. He did the swap and was really pleased to show me the car. I took it for a test drive and after doing so I told him not to drive it because it was a total death trap. The rear leaf springs were shot and the axle was moving around so you could feel the back end drift strangely even at low speeds. He said he would fix it. The next day, I got a call to say that he had been killed the night before while out with his girlfriend in the car. It had let go as he went around a corner and smashed into a wall. She was killed instantly by bricks coming through the window, he died a few minutes later from internal injuries.
I guess there is nothing you can do sometimes. At least I tried. - cnot3, on 08/13/2008, -12/+13You can have one drink, or a couple, and get behind the wheel, just don't have ten and weed does not affect your ability to drive at all, there's been studies. I don't smoke, but I can't help but defend the ***** from disinformation.
- strictnein, on 08/13/2008, -0/+1Digg isn't Pravda. GTFO
- bananasluggy, on 08/16/2008, -0/+1The sad thing is that everyone, and I do mean everyone, gets complacent when behind the wheel. It's how our brains are wired... I find I do it while on my bike and I've got no protection, other than my helmet, while on that stick with wheels. We didn't exactly evolve with the capacity to travel at 80mph (average speed on the freeway around here when conditions are perfect) and there's a lot that our brains simply have trouble with. It's amazing they haven't built in more computer-assistant systems into cars to over-come human weaknesses... (and I'd love to see better seat-belt harnesses, as the sort we have now can cause the person's left side to go slamming forward, as it has nothing holding it back. This is very bad for your neck and head, even if the airbag deploys.)
I see people all the time out on the roads doing crap that could get themselves killed, and I know exactly what they're thinking: "I know what I'm doing!"
Do you?
Do you know what everyone else is doing too? Do you know if they even see you being erratic? Everyone assumes other people are watching what they're doing, but if everyone assumes that, crap can go to hell quite quickly.
People need to accept that a car is a lethal weapon; it should be respected and given credit for the damage it can do. People are contrite and apologetic when there are consequences for their actions, but they obviously don't care enough to be more careful every time they get in that car. An accident should be just that: Something that no amount of foresight could have prevented (assuming of course that "staying home" isn't an option.) It shouldn't mean, "An event that, had you been paying attention, wouldn't have happened."
If your car isn't in safe condition to drive, you owe it to society to keep that thing in one place. If you're unsafe to drive, you owe it to society to call a cab. It's an annoyance, yes, but which would you rather deal with? The annoyance of a cab fare, or the life-long guilt of murdering someone because you over-estimated your own abilities?
I have friends I simply won't get in a car with. I have one friend who gets "road rage" rather easily and it only took one time of being in the passenger's seat for me to realize she's on borrowed time (I felt like I was on a roller coaster while in that car, except I knew there were no safety systems to save my butt.) When you get in a car with someone, you're trusting that person with your life at most, and at least, with your health. If you don't trust someone with your life, don't get in a car with them. Walk. Call a cab. Take the bus. Whatever. Better to insult someone than wind up dead.
When I'm on my bike I go at "reaction time" speed, not at the speed I'm capable of going. I look for movements in the shadows (has saved my life twice), I listen to every noise to check for engines (saved my life once), I assume there's a person in every car waiting to open the door (annoying as *****, but necessary). Whenever I'm in an area where there are children, I expect a toddler to jump out in front of me at any moment. I look for them. I assume all pedestrians are drunk whenever I have to use the sidewalks.
Everyone should have to spend a year riding a bicycle in commute traffic before being given a driver's license. (Big difference between cyclists and bike commuters. Bike commuters don't have a death wish.) I'm as nervous as a cat before an earthquake when I'm on my bike and it's saved my skin many times. Everyone who gets behind the wheel of a car should be equally anxious and careful and behave as if it were their DMV driver's test.
Each time.
When you get behind the wheel, you're not just taking your life in your hands but the lives of everyone you pass. You're also trusting everyone around you with your life too... (scary, no?) People who can't accept or realize this should be stripped of their driving privileges....
Maybe if all those people were without cars we'd have enough pressure to rebuild a good light-rail system, then everyone could read the paper while going to work and not have to worry about killing anyone before lunch time. :D - Krstln, on 08/13/2008, -0/+1You can get a ticket for sleeping in your car while intoxicated
- strictnein, on 08/13/2008, -0/+1Youry Barchukov (bars78)
Don't play stupid, Youry. - AuriniDMJ, on 08/13/2008, -0/+1Somebody drives an automatic, don't they? Four-door Mazda 3? Merge lanes make you nervous?
Learn to drive, or get the ***** off my road, you whiny bitch. - badbadmike, on 08/13/2008, -0/+1What is the message here? Being severely injured in a car accident sucks, but if it happens it's best to have wealthy, supportive parents who will prop you up while you struggle thru college? Most of us understand this a priori.
- inactive, on 08/13/2008, -2/+3When I was in High School, the local police showed us DUI photos with dead people and that made an impression on me. Back then, the drinking age was 18 and we were on the cusp of being drunk drivers.
- sodariot, on 08/13/2008, -0/+0Have you tried to reason with someone who drinks and drives? When I do with my friends they ignore me and claim they have complete control. (When they are sober)
- Kenzan, on 08/13/2008, -1/+1"I'M INVINCIBLE!"
You're a Looney.... - nossr50, on 08/13/2008, -0/+0A very touching story
Reminds me of people I know who have gone through horrendous accidents.
Driving under the influence is terrible.
As I always say, sleep in your car if you have to, just don't drive. - Peril, on 08/13/2008, -2/+1Everytime I see one of you ***** ghostriding your whip or doing stunts on your crotch rocket I think about what could happen to the innocent people just trying to get home. If me or someone I care for ever gets in a wreck caused by some jackass doing stupid ***** like that I WILL ***** KILL YOU.
Get the ***** off my road. - bobcrotch, on 08/13/2008, -3/+2Maybe if you weren't such a light weight you wouldn't have this problem.
- AuriniDMJ, on 08/13/2008, -5/+4Wait a minute - you can *die* while your driving? Why the hell did no one tell me this before! I thought flying through the windshield was just a thing that happened in movies and Grand Theft Auto!
Seriously, people - what is this doing on the frontpage? This guy's overcome adversity, is successful in his career, and has a program that smacks stupid teenagers in the head. Good for him, yes, but so what? And what's with everybody posting grim and serious comments? Lightning kills, power tools kill, S20 leaking out of an oil well kills - of all of these only the last is interesting, and only then if you haven't sat through numerous safety lectures on it.
Step one in getting a life is to stop worrying so much about mortality. I'm not saying drive drunk; I'm just saying spare me your sanctimony. - wazzledoozle2, on 08/13/2008, -4/+3Wrong. I know I'm not invincible, and his assumption that all teens think like he thought makes me not want to hear his spiel.
- dizzythegreat, on 08/13/2008, -3/+1I hate these guys that come to schools and use scare tactics to try to make the "stupid young people" smarter somehow.
Let religion use fear, use reasoned arguments elsewhere. - inactive, on 08/13/2008, -8/+2Or, Just take some acid/mushrooms/psychoactive drug and have someone drive you around in a car, driving a bit erratic. You just might have an Realization that the forces you whiled are astronomical and that itsy-bitsy seat belt you just put on ain't gonna do *****!
- obama4prez, on 08/13/2008, -8/+0it is what it is; honestly I have always though that the best wallpapers were landscapes but this really takes it to the next level, besides there are bound to be phrases that don't always roll off your tounge.
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