One-third of Canadian high school students have rode with drivers who had been drinking alcohol and nearly one in five with a driver who鈥檇 been smoking pot, a study conducted by the University of Waterloo reveals.
Researchers at the Ontario university鈥檚 Propel Centre for Population Health Impact found that 35 per cent of students in Grades 9 to 12 reported being passengers of drivers who had at least one drink within the previous hour and nearly 20 per cent rode in cars with a driver who had used marijuana within two hours.
The study is titled
It surveyed 24,650 students.
Leia Minaker, lead author of the paper and assistant professor at Waterloo, said the numbers are 鈥渃oncerning鈥� because 鈥淐anadian youth are at higher risk of death from traffic injuries than any other age group鈥� and a 鈥渟ignificant proportion of car-crash deaths are related to alcohol and drug impairment.鈥�
Markita Kaulius, founder of , lost her 22-year-old daughter Kassandra to a drunk driver in Surrey in 2011 and now speaks with high school students hoping the same avoidable fate does not befall them.
She has spoken with 10 classes of Grade 10 students within the past three weeks, addressing 30 to 40 students at a time.
鈥淚 go through everything,鈥� she says. Kaulius shows them photos of her daughter鈥檚 car, demolished when the drunk driver smashed into it with a van at 103 km/h after downing a bottle and a half of wine and blowing through a red light.
鈥淪he was a real person,鈥� Kaulius impresses upon the students as she discusses her daughter鈥檚 tragic death. She tells them four to six people a day are killed by a drunk driver in Canada and 190 are injured.
鈥淚t is scary out there.鈥�
During one recent school visit, Kaulius asked the students for a show of hands how many had rode in a car where someone had drank alcohol or used drugs.
鈥淚 would say 90 per cent of the class put their hand up,鈥� Kaulius recalls. 鈥淚鈥檓 saddened to hear that that many are willing to take a chance.鈥�
Was she shocked?
鈥淚 was, and I wasn鈥檛. I was that there was that many but I was not surprised because they just seemed to think it was OK to do. Nothing surprises me anymore.
鈥淚t鈥檚 something you just think, in this day and age, why are people still doing this?
She notes that many young people think nothing bad will ever happen to them.
鈥淭hey do it once, and 鈥榃ell nothing happened last time so it鈥檚 OK to do it this time and I鈥檒l do it again, right?鈥� And what I think my next question would be, on average, it鈥檒l be a question of have you done this five times, or 10 times, and just see what numbers come back.
The Waterloo study, recently published by the , also found that about nine per cent of Grade 11 and 12 students 鈥� roughly 66,000 teens 鈥� have driven within an hour of drinking and 9.4 per cent drove after using marijuana.
鈥淚 would believe those stats to be true,鈥� Kaulius tells the Now-Leader. 鈥淚 think as well, they way they think of driving after drinking, it seems to be not a big deal and that is truly what we need to change.
鈥淭hat was one of the things that I mentioned to these kids, that they are the next generation of Canadians and they can make a difference in the impaired driving stats,鈥� she says.
鈥淚 encourage them to be designated drivers. When they receive their licence at 16, it鈥檚 not their right to drive, it鈥檚 a privilege to drive and that at 16 they have been deemed old enough to know right from wrong and we hope at that age that they will make the choice to be responsible.
鈥淭he designated driver is not the person who has had the least amount of beer,鈥� she says. 鈥淭he person who has chosen to be responsible that night and to get themselves and their friends home safely and it鈥檚 one of the most important things that they will ever do in their lifetime.鈥�
Teens looking to their parents鈥� example but don鈥檛 always see wise behaviour.
鈥淎 lot of times they鈥檒l see parents go out for dinner and drinks, and then they鈥檒l drive, so I guess it鈥檚 OK if my parents to do that.鈥�
Kaulius encourages young people who are planning to party to make arrangements to use public transit, get a cab or have a designated driver.
鈥淓ven call their parents. Your parents would much rather come and pick you up, even if you have been drinking, than to receive two RCMP officers at their front door to tell them, 鈥業鈥檓 sorry to inform you your child鈥檚 been killed in an impaired driving collision.鈥� Parents just want you to be safe.鈥�
Meanwhile, Minaker notes that while the link between alcohol-related impaired driving and traffic crash rates is well recognized, 鈥渢he consequences of marijuana use are less clear.
鈥淎s legislation is drafted to regulate recreational marijuana over the coming months,鈥� she says, 鈥渢he federal government and the provinces need to prioritize keeping marijuana away from kids and creating strong policies to reduce marijuana-impaired driving.鈥�
Kaulis also offers a caveat.
鈥淣ow the government will legalize marijuana, that doesn鈥檛 mean it鈥檒l be OK to do that and drive 鈥� you鈥檒l still be impaired.鈥�
The University of Waterloo鈥檚 researchers also found that boys are more likely to drive after drinking alcohol or using marijuana but girls were more likely to ride with impaired drivers.
Teens in rural areas are at the greatest risk and students in Saskatchewan had the highest rates of using marijuana and drinking alcohol before driving, the study revealed.
