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The most common cause of fatal motor vehicle accidents (MVAs) is alcohol. Less information is available about the effect of other substances, but the 2007 National Roadside Survey found that more nighttime drivers were using drugs (14%) than alcohol (11%). In an analysis of data from the 1998–2009 Fatality Analysis Reporting System, researchers examined information from those states in which toxicology was available for at least 80% of drivers in fatal MVAs. The investigators limited analyses to single-vehicle MVAs to avoid questions of culpability in accidents involving other drivers.
The researchers examined crashes involving four driving errors: failure to yield or obey traffic direction, inattention (e.g., eating while driving), speeding…