Cambridge Police Receive Grant to Get Impaired Drivers Off the Road

Starting this week, the Cambridge Police Department will increase the number of impaired driving patrols on local roads after being awarded a special grant from the Highway Safety Division (HSD) of the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (EOPSS). The Cambridge Police Department will join more than 200 local police departments across the state and the state police in the national Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over enforcement mobilization.

This year’s campaign will include the impairment marijuana causes in drivers – and the exponentially increased impairment caused when alcohol and marijuana are combined.

“This grant funding will allow us to add patrols specifically to identify and remove impaired drivers,” said Deputy Superintendent Jack Albert of the Cambridge Police Department. “As always, we encourage motorists to plan for a sober ride in advance. Use a ride sharing or taxi service, the MBTA, or a designated driver if you will be consuming alcohol or marijuana and then plan on travelling.”

Massachusetts Data:

• Marijuana or marijuana-type drugs were the most prevalent types of drugs found in people killed in crashes from 2010 to 2014.
• From 2013 to 2014, alcohol impaired driving fatalities increased 14 percent (125 to 143).
• From 2010-2014, 77 percent of impaired drivers in fatal crashes were men.
• From 2010-2014, 46 percent of all alcohol-related driver fatalities were ages 21 to 34.

National Data:

• NHTSA’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) reported that drugs were present in 40 percent of the fatally-injured drivers with a known test result, almost the same level as alcohol.
• NHTSA’s 2013–2014 roadside survey found drugs in 22 percent of all drivers both on weekend nights and on weekdays.
• Drivers using marijuana demonstrated decreased car handling performance, increased reaction times, impaired time and distance estimation, sleepiness and decreased motor skill coordination (NHTSA).
• Mixing alcohol and marijuana may dramatically produce effects greater than either drug on its own (NHTSA).

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