People who drive high think they are safer drivers than others who drive high
Interviews with impaired driving offenders revealed that many viewed cannabis-impaired driving as less risky than drunk driving, believed they personally were safer than other stoned drivers, and valued the opinions of fellow cannabis users over non-users.
Quick Facts
What This Study Found
Many participants viewed driving under the influence of cannabis as less risky than driving under alcohol or other drugs. Comparative optimism bias was evident: participants perceived themselves as less likely than others to crash while stoned. Friends were seen as more accepting of cannabis-impaired driving than family. Opinions of fellow cannabis users were considered more credible than those of non-users (normative influence).
Key Numbers
20 participants interviewed from an impaired driving remedial program.
How They Did This
Semi-structured interviews with 20 participants in a remedial program for impaired drivers. Thematic analysis with two independent coders, applying social cognition concepts.
Why This Research Matters
Understanding the psychological mechanisms behind cannabis-impaired driving decisions can improve the effectiveness of public health campaigns and road safety messaging.
The Bigger Picture
The finding that people trust the opinions of fellow cannabis users over non-users suggests that peer-based interventions might be more effective than traditional authority-based messaging.
What This Study Doesn't Tell Us
Small qualitative sample (20). Participants were already caught for impaired driving, so may not represent typical cannabis-impaired drivers. Self-report subject to social desirability bias.
Questions This Raises
- ?Would public health campaigns that leverage peer influence be more effective than fear-based messaging?
- ?Does comparative optimism bias increase with driving experience while high?
Trust & Context
- Key Stat:
- Drivers believed they were safer stoned than others
- Evidence Grade:
- Small qualitative study of a specific population (caught offenders), providing depth but limited generalizability.
- Study Age:
- 2019 qualitative study.
- Original Title:
- Exploring perceptions among people who drive after cannabis use: Collision risk, comparative optimism and normative influence.
- Published In:
- Drug and alcohol review, 38(4), 443-451 (2019)
- Authors:
- Wickens, Christine M(9), Watson, Tara Marie(4), Mann, Robert E(11), Brands, Bruna
- Database ID:
- RTHC-02348
Evidence Hierarchy
Uses interviews or focus groups to understand experiences in depth.
What do these levels mean? →Frequently Asked Questions
Do people think driving high is safe?
Many impaired driving offenders in this study viewed cannabis-impaired driving as less risky than drunk driving and believed they were personally less likely to crash than other cannabis-impaired drivers.
What influences decisions to drive after using cannabis?
Friend acceptance of cannabis-impaired driving and the perceived credibility of fellow cannabis users' opinions were identified as important social influences.
Read More on RethinkTHC
Cite This Study
https://rethinkthc.com/research/RTHC-02348APA
Wickens, Christine M; Watson, Tara Marie; Mann, Robert E; Brands, Bruna. (2019). Exploring perceptions among people who drive after cannabis use: Collision risk, comparative optimism and normative influence.. Drug and alcohol review, 38(4), 443-451. https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.12923
MLA
Wickens, Christine M, et al. "Exploring perceptions among people who drive after cannabis use: Collision risk, comparative optimism and normative influence.." Drug and alcohol review, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.12923
RethinkTHC
RethinkTHC Research Database. "Exploring perceptions among people who drive after cannabis ..." RTHC-02348. Retrieved from https://rethinkthc.com/research/wickens-2019-exploring-perceptions-among-people
Access the Original Study
Study data sourced from PubMed, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.
This study breakdown was produced by the RethinkTHC research team. We analyze and report published research findings without making health recommendations. All interpretations are based solely on the published abstract and study data.