Every day, 28 people in the US die in motor vehicle crashes that involve an alcohol-impaired driver. This amounts to one death every 58 minutes. Drugs other than alcohol (legal and illegal drugs) are involved in about 16% of those crashes. The effects of drugs differ depending on which substance, the amount of substance in your body, whether there are multiple substances used, and how the brain reacts to the drug. But all of these factors can cause impaired driving, and possible death. Listen to a group of people who have been addicted to opioids discuss their experiences with impaired driving.

Discussion Guide:

Have you been pulled over for impaired driving? Were you impaired? What substance had you used?

Do you believe you are driving safely while taking Methadone or Suboxone?

Under what conditions are you not a safe driver while taking your medication?

How do the following substances effect driving? Marijuana? Cocaine? Benzodiazepines? Methamphetamines? Cough syrups?

Do you know what tests are used by officers to detect a drug impaired driver?

What are the driving safety laws in your state?

Supplemental Reading:

Impaired Driving: Get the Fact, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention http://www.cdc.gov/MotorVehicleSafety/Impaired_Driving/impaired-drv_factsheet.html

Drugged Driving, National Institute on Drug Abuse, http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/drugged-driving

Drug-impaired Driving, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drug%E2%80%93impaired_driving