Danger of Impaired Driving, Drugged Fatal Semi-Truck Crashes in Indiana and Illinois
The amount of commercial truck traffic on our roadways of Indiana and Illinois is much higher than in other parts of the country because we are a freight transportation hub for the entire United States. Consequently, the latest reports of a continuing rise in the number of commercial truck drivers using serious drugs like cocaine, marijuana, and methamphetamines while on the job is a tremendous concern for everyone driving our local highways, interstates, and rural routes.
Federal statistics confirm that more truckers tested positive for drugs in 2021 than in 2020. In the first eight months of this year, positive tests for marijuana alone jumped up 53% according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (“FMCSA”).
Moreover, Illinois ranked fifth (5th) in the country and Indiana ranked fifteenth (15th) in the United States for the number of positive drug tests for truckers with Commercial Drivers’ Licenses (CDLs) issued by that state.
This is of grave concern to safety agencies and those who advocate for fatal semi-truck crash victims and their families. The increasing likelihood of an impaired truck driver on our roads can only fuel the possibility of a fatal large truck accident here, given the following realities confirmed by Illinois’ National Safety Council:
- in 2019 there were 43% more large truck crash fatalities than in 2010; and
- large trucks are involved in 10% of all fatal motor vehicle accidents in this country.
FMCSA Clearinghouse: Positive Driver Drug Tests Jumped 13% In the Past Year
In October 2019, FMCSA opened registration to its Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse with trucking industry participation in the federal database legally mandated as of January 6, 2020. For details, read our discussion in Fighting Against Fatal Truck Accidents and Deadly Truck Crashes: FMCSA Clearinghouse Registration Begins.
Today, FMCSA Clearinghouse research reports are compiled and published online. From the August 2021 Summary Report of the FMCSA Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse, we know the following:
- Fourteen drug panels are tested by the federal agency;
- There was an increase to 39,785 from 35,252 positive drug tests of commercial truck drivers from August 2020 to August 2021;
- The most popular drug of choice for the truckers appears to be marijuana, where positive drug testing skyrocketed to 21,438 of the drug tests (an increase of 53% over the one-year time period);
- Cocaine use increased as well, second only to marijuana in popularity (5913 from 3379); and
- The third most popular drug for truckers according to the drug testing results was meth, with methamphetamine use jumping to 3526 from 3379 in the twelve-month time span.
FMCSA warns truck drivers are most likely to be driving while under the influence of marijuana, cocaine, or meth.
How Does Marijuana, Cocaine, and Meth Impair a Truck Driver?
Of course, the three most popular drugs each have their own unique characteristics and impact the human body is various ways. Importantly, while cocaine and meth both remain illegal drugs at both the state and federal levels, recreational marijuana is legal in the State of Illinois (it remains illegal in the Hoosier State). Read, Recreational Marijuana is Legal in Illinois: The Rising Danger of a Drugged Driving Crash.
Marijuana
While marijuana is considered to be less dangerous than cocaine or meth, it can still impair the driver and increase the likelihood of a fatal truck crash. Explains the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA):
There are many misconceptions about marijuana use, including rumors that marijuana can’t impair you or that marijuana use can actually make you a safer driver. Several scientific studies indicate that this is false. Research shows that marijuana impairs motor skills, lane tracking and cognitive functions (Robbe et al., 1993; Moskowitz, 1995; Hartman & Huestis, 2013). A 2015 study on driving after smoking cannabis stated that THC in marijuana also hurts a driver’s ability to multitask, a critical skill needed behind the wheel.
Cocaine
Narconon warns that cocaine is devious: the driver may perceive their abilities to be heightened, making them more agile and alert behind the wheel while the reality is that cocaine impairs the driver’s ability to function and increases the likelihood of risky and reckless driving.
This can include speeding, as well as making poor decisions such as improper lane changes or actions that result in loss of control of the rig. See, Magí Farré, Rafael De La Torre, María L. González, María T. Terán, Pere N. Roset, Esther Menoyo and Jordi Camí, Cocaine and Alcohol Interactions in Humans: Neuroendocrine Effects and Cocaethylene Metabolism, Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics October 1997, 283 (1) 164-176.
Methamphetamine
Studies have shown that drivers under the influence of meth are more likely not only to drive too fast and ignore the speed limit, but they are prone to weaving from side to side on the roadway while driving. See, Bosanquet, D., MacDougall, H. G., Rogers, S. J., Starmer, G. A., McKetin, R., Blaszczynski, A., & McGregor, I. S. (2013). Driving on ice: Impaired driving skills in current methamphetamine users. Psychopharmacology, 225(1), 161–172.
Justice for Victims of Fatal Semi-Truck Crashes Involving Impaired Driving
Truckers face unprecedented dangers on the job today, with the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics confirming the fatality rate for commercial truck drivers is the highest it has been since the inception of the BLS tracking the nation’s trucker death statistics. The risk to occupants in the trucker’s rigs, as well as drivers and passengers in other rigs on the roads and those in other, smaller types of motor vehicles (sedans, SUVs, pickups, minivans) of a deadly truck crash correspondingly rises with the trucker’s risk of a fatal accident.
Any semi-truck crash is likely to cause a serious or fatal bodily injury, even if the truck is being driven at relatively low speed. The mere size and weight of these vehicles contributes to the higher risk of death in any commercial large truck accident.
The new FMCSA report warns us that the roads of Indiana and Illinois may be more dangerous now for a deadly semi-truck crash now than ever before, given the increasing rates of drug use and impaired trucker driving confirmed by the FMCSA Clearinghouse.
For those who are victims of a fatal truck crash in Indiana or Illinois, state laws on the books may provide avenues to justice through claims based upon negligence, worker’s compensation, and wrongful death laws.
For more on truck crashes, read:
- Danger of Fatal Semi-Truck Crashes in Indiana and Illinois and the 2021 Infrastructure Bill
- Fatal Truck Crashes and Semi Truck Brake Failures
- Jackknife Semi-Truck Crash: Deadly Danger on Indiana and Illinois Roads
- Different Types of Fatal Semi-Truck Accidents and Tractor-Trailer Crashes
- Truck Driver Drug Use in Indiana and Illinois: High Risk of a Fatal Truck Crash Caused by Impaired Trucker
- Trucking Companies Liable for Semi-Truck Crashes in Indiana and Illinois.
Here in Indiana and Illinois, our huge volume of commercial truck traffic translates into an unacceptably high risk of a fatal semi-truck crash on our roads today. Please be careful out there!
