OAKVILLE, Ontario, April 12, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Even though they believe they are impaired, many Canadians still choose to drive after alcohol, cannabis and other drug consumption, according to MADD Canada’s fourth National Survey On Driving After Alcohol, Cannabis, Or Drug Use.
The overall results indicate a disturbing number of Canadians continue to drive impaired. These behaviours are elevated among young males aged 18-34, which is a consistent trend throughout all MADD Canada’s surveys.
The current survey also shows that young females, aged 18 – 34 are beginning to be on par with their male counterparts when it comes to driving after alcohol, cannabis and other drug consumption. Individuals with children under 18 in the household also showed higher than average rates in many categories.
“As always, we want to be clear that impaired driving is not limited to one age group or one category; it is a serious problem among all groups,” said Eric Dumschat, MADD Canada Legal Director. “But the elevated rates among some groups are existing and potentially emerging trends which need to be tracked and addressed by Governments and public health authorities.”
The latest survey, conducted by Ipsos on behalf of MADD Canada in November and December, talked to 3,000 Canadians of legal drinking age to age 70 about their consumption of alcohol, cannabis, or other drugs, and whether they drove afterward while they believed that they were impaired. MADD Canada’s previous national surveys were released in July 2021, March 2022, and September 2022.
“The overall results indicate that driving after consumption of alcohol, cannabis or other drugs continues to be commonplace for many people, which poses significant risk to everyone on the roads,” Mr. Dumschat said. “MADD Canada remains committed to advancing legislative and policy solutions to reduce the rate of impaired driving and the related crashes, deaths and injuries.”
Survey Results
Alcohol
- A majority of Canadians (68%) consumed alcohol in the past 30 days. Consumption rates were higher among 35 -54 year old males (72%) and 18-34 year old females (72%).
- Of those who consumed alcohol, 6% drove while believing they were impaired. Elevated rates were seen among young women aged 18 – 34 (8%) and among people with children under 18 in the household (10%).
- Of those who drove while believing they were impaired, 33% drove with passengers. This is down 12 points compared to the previous survey in May 2022. However, the rate was higher among 35-54 year old males (46%) and females (42%) in the 18 – 34 age group.
Cannabis
- Nearly a third (30%) of Canadians reported consuming cannabis in the past 30 days. This rate was elevated among males (45%) and females (38%) in the 18-34 age group, and among people who had children under 18 in the household (34%).
- Of those who consumed, 12% drove while believing they were impaired. Again, these rates were elevated among males (18%) and females (18%) in the 18-34 age group, and among people who had children under 18 in the household (18%).
- Of those who drove while believing they were impaired, 61% drove with passengers. These rates were higher among people who had children under 18 in the household (69%), and men aged 35 -54 (67%).
Illicit Drugs, Medications (Prescribed or Not) Or Other Substances For Recreational Purposes Or To Get High
- The survey showed 12% of Canadians consumed an illicit drug, medication (prescribed or not) or other substance for recreational purposes or to get high in the last 30 days. This rate was elevated among males (19%) and females (19%) in the 18-34 age group, and among people who had children under 18 in the household (16%).
- Of those who consumed other drugs, 19% drove while believing they were impaired. This rate was higher among young males aged 35-54 (28%) and those with children under 18 in the household (30%).
- Of those who drove believing they were impaired, 60% drove with passengers. This rate was higher among those with children under 18 in the household (74%).
The survey shows that misperceptions about driving after alcohol and cannabis consumption persist. Approximately 3 in 10 (28%) of Canadians believe there is a big difference between driving after consuming alcohol and driving after consuming cannabis. This rate is down 3 pts compared to the May 2022 survey, but consistent with results from the November 2021 survey.
Further, approximately 1 in 10 believe that driving after consuming a few drinks (13%), consuming cannabis (11%) or consuming an illicit drug, medication (prescribed or not) or other substance for recreational purposes or to get high (9%) is no big deal.
The main reasons given for driving after consuming alcohol, cannabis or other drugs remain consistent compared to previous surveys: they did not feel impaired; they did not have far to drive; or they thought they could drive carefully. However, in the case of illicit drugs, another main reason is that they do not believe they would be caught by law enforcement. In general, the reasons for engaging in these behaviours are similar across demographic subgroups.
About The Survey
These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted between November 24 and December 7, 2022 on behalf of MADD Canada. For this survey, a sample of 3000 Canadians aged 18-70 with a valid driver’s licence was interviewed online. Quotas and weighting are employed to ensure that the sample’s composition reflects that of the Canadian population aged 18-70 of drinking age according to census parameters. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll is accurate to within ± 2.0 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, had all Canadians aged 18-70 of drinking` age been polled. The credibility interval will be wider among subsets of the population. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error.
