Drug impaired driving is a growing road safety problem in Canada and other countries. In order to address this problem, the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators has developed a strategic action plan in order to address this issue. One of the priority actions is the development of materials that can be used in awareness and education campaigns in Canada. In order to assist in the development of these materials, a national public opinion survey was conducted. This survey addresses the public's awareness of the drugged driving problem, perception of its nature, knowledge about legislation related to drug impaired driving, attitudes toward drug impaired driving and measures to deter it, and self-reported driving after the use of alcohol and/or drugs. The results of the survey will help identify the target groups for the awareness campaign and the messages that might resonate with these targets groups. A total of 1,500 licensed Canadians who had driven in the previous 30 days participated in the survey in November 2012. Half of them were interviewed by telephone using Random Digit Dialing (RDD) and Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI), while the other half were part of an on-line panel recruited by RDD who completed the survey on the internet. Both land line and cell phone numbers were used. The sample was regionally based so that comparisons could be made across the country. The response rate was 27%. About 80% of respondents were very concerned (6 or 7 on 7-point scale) about alcohol impaired driving, higher than street drugs (e.g., cocaine) and driving (67%), or cannabis and driving (58%). While 85% knew that drug impaired driving is a criminal offence, only 16% knew that the licence suspension on conviction is 12 months. The majority (58%) were unsure whether their province/territory has administrative laws dealing with drug impaired driving. While 26% thought alcohol impaired driving had increased during the past five years, 41% thought that driving while impaired by cannabis had increased. About 90% strongly agreed that alcohol impairs driving, but only 68% agreed that cannabis impairs driving. While 64 % thought that it was very likely that a driver would be stopped and charged for alcohol impaired driving, only 26% believed this for cannabis. About 16% of drivers said that they had driven after consuming more than one drink in the last 30 days, while this percentage was 9.8% for prescription drugs, 8.6% for non-prescription drugs, 2.4% for cannabis, and less than 1% for street drugs. There was strong support for measures such as an immediate three-day licence suspension for drug impaired drivers (76%) and the requirement that drivers involved in serious collisions to be tested for alcohol and drugs (84%), but not for random testing for drugs (46%). The results of the survey suggest some target groups for a public awareness campaign (e.g., young drivers who use cannabis) and the need to raise awareness about the impairing effects of illegal and some medicinal drugs. (Author/publisher)
Abstract