After crash that killed 6 teens, NTSB chief says people underestimate marijuana’s impact on drivers
DETROIT– A horrific crash that killed six Oklahoma high school students two years ago has prompted the chairman of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board to urge parents to warn teens about the dangers of driving after using marijuana.
President Jennifer Homendy appealed to parents Thursday as her agency released its final report on the clash of march 22, 2022 between a small Chevrolet Spark hatchback and a gravel truck in the small town of Tishomingo.
After an investigation by its staff, the board concluded that the crash was caused by the 16-year-old driver slowing down at an intersection and then accelerating at a stop sign, likely because she was under the influence of recent marijuana use and distracted by the five teenage passengers in the car, the NTSB report said.
In an interview, Homendy also said that the cannabis problem is not limited to teenagers. Now that more states have legalized it recreational marijuanaTeenagers and adults often underestimate the risks of driving under the influence.
“There is a perception that in states where it is legal, it is safe and legal to drive under the influence of marijuana,” she said.
In its report on the accident, the NTSB cited studies showing that marijuana reduces motor coordination, slows reaction time, and impairs judgment of time and distance, all important functions of driving.
Currently, it is legal for people 21 and older to use marijuana recreationally in 24 states plus Washington, D.C., according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Oklahoma does not allow recreational use, but like most states, it is legal for medical purposes. Driving under the influence of marijuana is illegal in all states and Washington, D.C.
The NTSB, which investigates traffic accidents but has no regulatory authority, issued a safety alert Thursday urging parents to talk to young drivers about how marijuana can impair driving and how they can make responsible choices to avoid driving under the influence or riding with drunk drivers.
Homendy said states that have legalized marijuana are lagging behind in making sure people know it’s illegal to drive under the influence. More than half of Americans live in states where recreational cannabis use is legal, she said.
“Unfortunately, I think state laws legalizing recreational and medicinal marijuana really came before any thoughts or actions on what they’re going to do about traffic safety,” Homendy said. “They’re way ahead of the curve on legalizing it, but way behind on traffic safety.”
She said states should collect more data on the impact of marijuana legalization on road safety and enforce laws against driving under the influence of cannabis.
“Enforcement is necessary to deter,” she said.
A study of crashes in Washington state, where recreational marijuana use has been legalized, found that more drivers involved in fatal crashes tested positive for marijuana after its use was legalized, the NTSB said.
In Tishomingo, about 100 miles southeast of Oklahoma City, six high school girls got into a car designed to carry four for a lunch break, the NTSB report said.
At an intersection, the driver slowed to 1 mph (1.6 kilometers per hour), but accelerated and did not stop completely for a traffic sign. Instead, she accelerated and turned left in front of the gravel truck. The truck driver braked and steered to avoid the Spark, but struck the driver’s side at just under 50 mph (80 kilometers per hour). All six teens died from multiple blunt force injuries.
Tests on blood taken from the driver’s body showed a THC concentration of 95.9 nanograms per milliliter, the NTSB said. If that level of THC, the main chemical component of marijuana, were found in a living person, it would indicate “a high probability that the individual had used cannabis very recently and was therefore likely still experiencing acute, impairing cannabis effects,” the report said.
However, the NTSB warned that blood samples from body cavities can sometimes be contaminated with other body fluids or with THC from other tissues, including the lungs, which can contain high concentrations.
Additionally, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol found e-cigarette mouthpieces and cannabis buds in the car at the crash scene, the report said.
The NTSB recommended in the report that the Oklahoma State Department of Education develop a drug and alcohol abuse curriculum for local school districts that educates students about the risks of driving under the influence of marijuana. Currently, only Massachusetts and Rhode Island have such course requirements, the NTSB said.
The agency also wants the Governors Highway Safety Association, a group of state traffic safety officials, the National Conference of State Legislatures and the National Association of State Boards of Education to inform their members about the Tishomingo crash and the need for cannabis information in school and driver education.
The safety organization said in a statement that driving under the influence of cannabis is a growing safety problem and that road safety agencies are focused on eradicating drunk driving.
“We need to communicate to children well in advance that driving and ingesting, smoking or inhaling marijuana are harmful and pose risks to them and to others,” Homendy said.