Drugs while driving: Numbers on drinking, cannabis-use while behind the wheel

October 22, 2025

Natl. Teen Driving Safety Week: Numbers on drinking, cannabis-use while behind the wheel

BUT LET’S BEGIN WITH FIRST WARNING METEOROLOGIST SANDRA SHAW WITH THE LATEST ON MELISSA’S TRACK. ALL RIGHT, WELL, MELISSA IS LOCATED 520 MILES TO THE SOUTH SOUTHWEST OF PORT AU PRINCE, HAITI. SO HERE YOU SEE IT. AND BASICALLY IT’S GOT 50 MILE AN HOUR WINDS AND IS MOVING AT ABOUT 12 MILES AN HOUR. MEANDERING IS HOW I WOULD KIND OF DESCRIBE IT TO THE WEST. IT CONTINUES TO MOVE KIND OF NORTHWARD THROUGHOUT THE CARIBBEAN SEA, WHERE WE HAVE VERY HOT WATER TEMPERATURES STILL IN THE LOWER TO MID, EVEN UPPER 80S AROUND HERE. SO THAT WILL HELP IT INTENSIFY INTO A HURRICANE. LOOKS LIKE AS A HURRICANE SOMEWHERE EAST OF KINGSTON, JAMAICA, WHERE WE ALREADY HAVE THOSE WARNINGS AND WATCHES UP. BUT IT’S GOING TO MEANDER AND THEN GET PUSHED OUT, MAYBE EVEN INTO NEXT WEEK. HANGING AROUND FOR THE WEEKEND HERE IN THE SOUTH CARIBBEAN AND THEN MAYBE GETTING PUSHED AWAY AND THEN HEADING OUT TO SEA IN THE ATLANTIC. AS WE HEAD INTO SOMETIME NEXT WEEK, THERE WILL BE A DRAPED FRONTAL BOUNDARY WHICH WILL KEEP IT AWAY FROM SOUTH FLORIDA. ACCORDING TO THE CURRENT MODELING. SO IT’S SOMETHING WE’RE GOING TO KEEP EYES ON IN CASE ANYTHING CHANGES. BUT MEANWHILE, THE FOG TRACKER THIS MORNING, I’VE GOT IT UP BECAUSE, I MEAN, THERE’S A LITTLE THIN VEIL OF SOME LOW LEVEL CLOUDS, LITTLE HAZE, LITTLE FOG POTENTIAL FOR THIS MORNING. BUT WHEN WE REALLY SEE THE PATCHY, DENSE FOG, WE WOULD BE SEEING YELLOW ON THIS MAP. AND THAT’S NOT THE SITUATION RIGHT NOW. BUT EITHER WAY, BE AWARE THAT THAT COULD BE AN ISSUE FROM TIME TO TIME UNTIL ABOUT 8:00 OR SO WHEN IT BURNS OFF. MEANWHILE, THE LOWER 70S FOR THE TREASURE COAST AND THE PALM BEACHES RIGHT NOW, UPPER 70S, WE’RE HEADED FOR HIGHS TODAY, IN THE UPPER 80S

Updated: 6:43 AM EDT Oct 22, 2025

Editorial Standards ⓘ

Natl. Teen Driving Safety Week: Numbers on drinking, cannabis-use while behind the wheel

Updated: 6:43 AM EDT Oct 22, 2025

Editorial Standards ⓘ

The No. 1 cause of death in teens ages 15 to 19 is accidents, with car crashes at the top of that list.Driving under the influence only increases the risks of crashes. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says 2020 data revealed nearly 30% of drivers ages 15 to 20 who were killed in car crashes had been drinking.Seventeen percent had a blood alcohol content level of .08 or higher, which is illegal for adults in the United States. The officials said second to drinking, cannabis is the most commonly used drug associated with impaired driving.They say studies have shown a link “between acute cannabis use and car crashes, but more research is needed.”What they can confirm is that cannabis use can slow drivers’ reaction time, ability to make decisions and distort perception.Also, your ability to drive safely goes down after consuming both alcohol and marijuana. Officials say if you are driving, the safest option is not to use any alcohol or drugs.The national organization Mothers Against Drunk Driving, or MADD, says teens are less likely to engage in risky behaviors when caring adults have open dialogue.To access free resources they’ve provided to guide those conversations, click here.

The No. 1 cause of death in teens ages 15 to 19 is accidents, with car crashes at the top of that list.

Driving under the influence only increases the risks of crashes.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says 2020 data revealed nearly 30% of drivers ages 15 to 20 who were killed in car crashes had been drinking.

Seventeen percent had a blood alcohol content level of .08 or higher, which is illegal for adults in the United States.

The officials said second to drinking, cannabis is the most commonly used drug associated with impaired driving.

They say studies have shown a link “between acute cannabis use and car crashes, but more research is needed.”

What they can confirm is that cannabis use can slow drivers’ reaction time, ability to make decisions and distort perception.

Also, your ability to drive safely goes down after consuming both alcohol and marijuana.

Officials say if you are driving, the safest option is not to use any alcohol or drugs.

The national organization Mothers Against Drunk Driving, or MADD, says teens are less likely to engage in risky behaviors when caring adults have open dialogue.

To access free resources they’ve provided to guide those conversations, click here.