National teen driver safety week
With the legalization of marijuana, young drivers and passengers need to #knowwhatimpairedmeans
Two organizations are aiming to educate young drivers about road safety, this NTDSW. The annual week is set for Oct. 22 to 28. This year, Parachute and Desjardins aim for teens to help reduce drugged driving and teach about driving safely without impairment, distraction and aggression.
One in four drivers aged 16 to 24 who died in a car crash between 2000 and 2010 tested positive for cannabis. Despite this, many youths do not think that driving high can be a risk, and some believe that using can make them a better driver. To #knowwhatimpairedmeans, cannabis slows reaction times and when combined with alcohol, increases the negative impact on driving skills. Educating teens about distracted, aggressive driving and speeding is a part of the NTDSW campaign.
“While cannabis becomes legal in Canada for those 19 and older, it is neither legal nor acceptable for people to drive while impaired by cannabis,” said Steve Podborski, Parachute president and CEO.
“We know that 65 per cent of cannabis users believe it has no effect, or even a positive effect, on their thinking and decisionmaking, and 22 per cent of teen users believe that cannabis doesn’t cause impairment for drivers. We need to change those perceptions to keep all road users safe.”
“We have concerns over any form of impaired driving and we know that tackling the issue of drug impaired driving requires a collective effort from all stakeholders,” said Denis Dubois, president and CEO of Desjardins General Insurance Group. “It’s one of the many reasons why we partner with Parachute; to raise awareness on road safety issues such as drug-impaired driving and distracted driving.” During the week of Oct. 22 to 28, teens, parents and influencers are welcome to participate in NTDSW activities across Canadian communities.