One in three young adults has ridden with an impaired driver

One-third of young adults aged 19 and 20 report riding in a motor vehicle with an impaired driver at the wheel at least once in the past year, according to a new study co-authored by Yale researcher Federico Vaca, M.D. M.P.H , and his colleagues at the National Institutes of Health, and led by Colorado State University investigators. Driver impairment was more likely to be caused by marijuana use than alcohol, the researchers said. The research team used data from the NEXT Generation Health Study, a nationally representative survey of U.S. adolescents and young adults focusing on health and behavior. They analyzed responses from young adults one to two years out of high school who were asked about a variety of health topics, including risky behavior and substance use. One-third of the group surveyed said they had taken a ride with an impaired driver. More specifically, in response to a question about riding in a vehicle driven by someone who had had an alcoholic drink or drug, 23% of the young adults said they had done so with a driver impaired by marijuana. One in five said they had ridden along with an alcohol-impaired driver.