MARIJUANA AND DRIVER BEHAVIORS: HISTORIC AND SOCIAL OBSERVATIONS AMONG FATAL ACCIDENT OPERATORS AND A CONTROL SAMPLE

The final report, Part III for DOT HS-310-3-595 is an analysis and evaluation of the data from 1068 motor vehicle operators in the greater Boston area with a focal interest in marijuana use patterns and corresponding demographic, psychosocial, alcohol, and other drug and vehicular variables. The 2 samples contributing to this presentation include 267 (25%) experimental operators who were 'most responsible' for a highway accident in the greater Boston area resulting in a personal fatality to an operator, other vehicular occupant or a pedestrian and 801 (75%) operators matched to the experimentals without any fatal accident histories comprising the control sample. The experimental sample included 121 (45%) marijuana smokers and 146 (55%) non-smokers, with the control sample showing 272 (34%) marijuana smokers and 529 (66%) non-smokers. Notable differences were observed between these 4 sub-samples and between the smokers and the non-smokers. In broad terms the control smokers were over-achievers and the experimental smokers under-achievers. The control smokers were more successful with their education and occupation than were the experimental smokers. Other observations were collected from only the control smokers relative to subjective impressions of behavioral alterations when marijuana intoxicated and a number of more objective variables associated with marijuana use patterns.

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• Record URL:
  • https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/1159
• Supplemental Notes:
  • See also PB-237 956.
• Corporate Authors:

  Boston University

  Traffic Accident Research Project
  Boston, MA  United States  02215

  National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Sterling-Smith, R S
  • Graham, D D
• Publication Date: 1976-5

Media Info

• Pagination: 193 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Alcoholic beverages; Alcoholism; Behavior; Control groups; Crash injury research; Crashes; Demographics; Drivers; Drugs; Fatalities; Hallucinogenic drugs; History; Human factors engineering; Marijuana; Research; Social psychology; Surveys; Traffic crashes; Traffic safety; Urban areas
• Uncontrolled Terms: Motor vehicle accidents
• Geographic Terms: Massachusetts
• Old TRIS Terms: Driver psychology; Sociopsychological surveys
• Subject Areas: Highways; History; Research; Safety and Human Factors; Society;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00137050
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Technical Information Service
• Report/Paper Numbers: Pt. 3 Final Rpt., DOT-HS-801-917
• Contract Numbers: DOT-HS-310-3-595
• Files: NTIS, NTL, TRIS, USDOT
• Created Date: Aug 23 1976 12:00AM