FRIENDS DON'T LET FRIENDS DRIVE HIGH......

DRIVING HIGH ON MARIJUANA IS IMPAIRED DRIVING.....this is not your grandad's or dad's weed anymore

You’ve helped change the perception of drunk driving by making the phrase “Friends Don’t Let Friends Drive Drunk” common, and now it’s time to spread the message about the dangers of using marijuana and driving. 

NHTSA has teamed up with the Ad Council to launch the drug-impaired-driving prevention campaign, If You Feel Different, You Drive Different. Together, the hope is to change the cultural conversation around driving after using marijuana, to make it as socially unacceptable as driving drunk. 

Nearly every state has adopted some form of legal marijuana.  However, it is still ILLEGAL EVERYWHERE to drive impaired by ANY drug. According to studies, marijuana can slow your reaction time, impair judgment of distance, and decrease coordination.  All of these are essential attention tasks needed when you are behind the wheel of a vehicle. 

The potency of marijuana has changed dramatically since the 1970's. Over the past 10 years is has continued to rise as legalization takes hold and getting a "higher" high is driven by consumers and products.  Marijuana is not just smoked-it's eaten, vaped, dabbed, drank, used as a topical...where there's a will there's way.  

TOGETHER WE GET THERE

In February, 2021,, the Washington Traffic Safety Commission (WTSC) announced its Together We Get There brand, marking the start of the agency’s new systematic approach to improving safety on our state’s roadways. Read more about the campaign here.  With this launch, WTSC joins a collective of forward-thinking organizations throughout the country that are using Proactive Traffic Safety Culture to usher in a new era of traffic safety communications and outreach.

Proactive Traffic Safety Culture is an approach that engages the majority of people who use the state’s roads safely in order to influence the smaller group engaging in risky behaviors. Essentially, by recognizing and reinforcing the positive safety norms that already exist in Washington, like wearing a seat belt or intervening to stop a friend from driving impaired, WTSC is creating a community that supports these safe behaviors and helps others adopt them.

READ MORE ABOUT IT HERE IN THE AP-NEWS