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In just three days, four people died after being hit by drivers under the influence of narcotics. Three policemen and a 6-year-old girl. These sad miscellaneous facts once again highlight the dangers of drugs while driving, and in particular cannabis (the most widely used illicit substance in France).
In just three days, four people died after being hit by drivers under the influence of narcotics. Three policemen and a 6-year-old girl. These sad miscellaneous facts once again highlight the dangers of drugs while driving, and in particular cannabis (the most widely used illicit substance in France).
Cannabis implicated in several fatal accidents
Sunday May 21, a police car hits another car which was driving in the opposite direction on the RD 700 at Villeneuve-d’Ascq, in the north of France. The three police officers who were in the car, two men and a woman aged 24 and 25, died instantly. The 24-year-old driver of the oncoming vehicle also died. He was driving under the influence of alcohol and narcotics.
Tuesday, May 23, in Trappes (Yvelines), a 6-year-old girl died hit by a young driver (21 years old) who tested positive for narcotics. She said she was surprised to see the girl crossing the road on her bike and couldn’t avoid her.
Drugs while driving, a heavily punished offense
These two cases, along with many others (that of Pierre Palmade recently), once again show the dangers of driving under the influence of narcotics. An offense punishable by a fine of 4500 € and 2 years in prison. If the driver is at the same time under the influence of alcohol, the fine increases to €9000 and the prison sentence is 3 years.
The penalties incurred are heavier in the event of a bodily accident (injuries) and a fatal accident: 7 years in prison and a fine of €100,000 for a bodily accident and 10 years in prison and a fine of €150,000 for an accident deadly.
The driver also receives a withdrawal of 6 points on his driving license (8 points if alcohol + drugs).
Cannabis, first drug implicated in fatal road accidents
“Cannabis is the illicit narcotic product most often detected in people involved in fatal accidents and who test positive for narcotics. The proportion of fatal accidents that would be avoided if no driver tested positive for cannabis is estimated at 4%”, according to Road Safety. If cannabis is so dangerous for the drivers who use it and the people who cross their path, it is because the use of cannabis and driving are incompatible, regardless of the dose consumed.
It has been shown that its effects on the body do not allow safe driving. “The tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in cannabis slows down the brain. This has the effect of altering all the resources needed for driving, namely vigilance, perception of the environment, decision-making, reflexes“, explains Dr. Christelle Peybernard, addiction psychiatrist.
In addition, cannabis has sedative effects, so it can induce drowsiness while driving. “Drowsiness is linked to the amount consumed and the THC potency of cannabis“, adds the specialist. Note that these effects are increased when taking cannabis is combined with other drugs or alcohol.
A driver who tests positive for cannabis multiplies his risk of being responsible for a fatal accident by 1.65. A driver who has consumed cannabis and alcohol multiplies by 29 his risk of being responsible for a fatal accident. “The two substances potentiate each other. One aggravates the effects of the other“, warns the addictologist.