--- description: But that doesn't mean that using pot before driving has no risks, say researchers from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration title: Driving Stoned Is Far Safer Than Driving Drunk image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Driving While Stoned Is Much Safer Than Driving Drunk, Says a New Study by [Rishi Iyengar](/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 12, 2015 10:32 AM CUT by [Rishi Iyengar](/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 12, 2015 10:32 AM CUT Driving while stoned is [not as dangerous](http://time.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/812118-roadside%5Fsurvey%5F2014.pdf "undefined") as driving while drunk — in fact, according to a new report, it’s about as safe as driving while sober once variables are adjusted for. While drunk driving dramatically increases the chances of getting into an accident, researchers from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found no evidence to suggest the same was true of marijuana use, the federal agency’s _Roadside Survey of Alcohol and Drug Use by Drivers_ reveals. Although THC — the high-inducing ingredient of marijuana — is the most common element found in car crashes after alcohol, and increases the risk of crashing by 25%, the study found that the risk was negligible after adjusting for factors like age, gender and race. The researchers did clarify, however, that the report’s findings “do not indicate that drug use by drivers is risk-free,” and urged people to consider their own study’s limitations as well as the findings of other studies. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3706491/driving-stoned-drunk-study-safety/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3706491/driving-stoned-drunk-study-safety/"},"headline":"Driving While Stoned Is Much Safer Than Driving Drunk, Says a New Study","datePublished":"2015-02-12T10:32:59.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T04:21:32.593Z","description":"But that doesn't mean that using pot before driving has no risk at all, researchers emphasize","url":"https://time.com/3706491/driving-stoned-drunk-study-safety/","keywords":["Marijuana","Transportation","Drugs","study","Drunk-driving"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Rishi Iyengar","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/rishi-iyengar/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3706491/driving-stoned-drunk-study-safety/","name":"Driving While Stoned Is Much Safer Than Driving Drunk, Says a New Study"}}]}] ```