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"There have been numerous studies in which the effects of marijuana have been assesed on performance in driving simulators and even a few studies conducted in c

"There have been numerous studies in which the effects of marijuana have been assesed on performance in driving simulators and even a few studies conducted in city traffic. Much to everyone's surprise, the results of many of these studies revealed only relatively small impairments in driving skills, even after quite large doses of the drug. Several of the early studies showed no impairment at all, but as driving simulators grew more sophisticated and the tasks became more complex and demanding, impairments were observed, for example in peripheral vision and lane control. Marijuana users, however seem to be aware that their driving skills may be impaired and they tend to compensate by driving more slowly, keeping some distance from the vehicle ahead and in general take fewer risks (Smiley, 1986). This is in marked contrast to the effects of alcohol, which produces clear impairments in many aspects of driving skill as assesed in driving simulators. Alcohol also tends to encourage people to take greater risks and drive more aggresively" (Iversen, 2008, p.95) http://www.amazon.co.uk/Science-Marijuana-Leslie-L-Iversen/dp/0195328248/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1321650884&sr=1-1 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Science-Marijuana-Leslie-L-Iversen/d... Now personally I do not think it is at all a good idea to drive when stoned, but I do not consider it anywhere near as dangerous as driving when drunk. Same goes for a lot of other drugs. I'd rather get in a car with someone driving on LSD than on alcohol. They might think the other cars are penguins, but their reaction time if the penguins get too close is still going to be reasonable. People who drive under the influence of any mind altering substance (be it alcohol or weed) should have their driving privileges taken away Caffine and most painkillers fall into this definition. I'd rather just replace the ignition system with a short driving game that you have to complete to start the car.

josefresco 12y ago
Or replace the need for an active driver at all. Seems like we're already flirting with this scenario with the lane-assist, adaptive cruise control etc. The question then becomes, if an active/traditional "driver" is not needed, can the occupants be intoxicated?
- anigbrowl 12y ago
  Yeah, the inherent advantages of self-driving cars look set to moot these debates within the next decade.
nitrogen 12y ago
I'd rather just replace the ignition system with a short driving game that you have to complete to start the car I've heard there are cars with a breath analyzer connected to the ignition. A driving game would hopefully pick up more than alcohol, so I like that idea. Unfortunately, I suspect many drunk drivers will just do what they do with the current systems and have their sober girlfriend pass the test for them.
- lotsofmangos 12y ago
  have their sober girlfriend pass the test for them. Good point. It needs some form of seat sensor that turns the engine back off if the person in the driving seat changes.
  - nitrogen 12y ago
    Even that's not enough, though; the girlfriend might just lean over from the passenger seat. This is based on third hand information I've heard, not on anybody I actually know.
- fnordfnordfnord 12y ago
  There is no breath analyzer for pot, or for other drugs, and the only tests available give results that aren't directly related to impairment. ie: A habitual user who isn't impaired can test the same as a casual user who is.
taion 12y ago
There's an extremely extremely rough utilitarian analysis that says that the largest positive effect in QALYs added comes from fewer road traffic deaths due to people substituting away from driving while drunk to driving while stoned. See section IV of http://slatestarcodex.com/2014/01/05/marijuana-much-more-than-you-wanted-to-know/ http://slatestarcodex.com/2014/01/05/marijuana-much-more-tha...

josefresco 12y ago

Or replace the need for an active driver at all. Seems like we're already flirting with this scenario with the lane-assist, adaptive cruise control etc. The question then becomes, if an active/traditional "driver" is not needed, can the occupants be intoxicated?

anigbrowl 12y ago
Yeah, the inherent advantages of self-driving cars look set to moot these debates within the next decade.

nitrogen 12y ago

I'd rather just replace the ignition system with a short driving game that you have to complete to start the car I've heard there are cars with a breath analyzer connected to the ignition. A driving game would hopefully pick up more than alcohol, so I like that idea. Unfortunately, I suspect many drunk drivers will just do what they do with the current systems and have their sober girlfriend pass the test for them.

lotsofmangos 12y ago
have their sober girlfriend pass the test for them. Good point. It needs some form of seat sensor that turns the engine back off if the person in the driving seat changes.
- nitrogen 12y ago
  Even that's not enough, though; the girlfriend might just lean over from the passenger seat. This is based on third hand information I've heard, not on anybody I actually know.
fnordfnordfnord 12y ago
There is no breath analyzer for pot, or for other drugs, and the only tests available give results that aren't directly related to impairment. ie: A habitual user who isn't impaired can test the same as a casual user who is.

taion 12y ago

There's an extremely extremely rough utilitarian analysis that says that the largest positive effect in QALYs added comes from fewer road traffic deaths due to people substituting away from driving while drunk to driving while stoned. See section IV of http://slatestarcodex.com/2014/01/05/marijuana-much-more-than-you-wanted-to-know/ http://slatestarcodex.com/2014/01/05/marijuana-much-more-tha...