Driving after cannabis use and compensatory driving behaviors among current cannabis users in Colorado

The effects of cannabis and alcohol on driving performance and driver behaviour: a systematic review and meta‐analysis

“…No evidence was found that cannabis improves driving ability, which is what some drivers would like to believe [95][96][97][98]. Specifically, the metaanalysis of experimental driving studies indicates that cannabis had a consistent effect upon lateral control and speed.…”

“…The results of this meta‐analysis of experimental studies clearly indicate that driving under the influence of cannabis impairs driving performance. No evidence was found that cannabis improves driving ability, which is what some drivers would like to believe [95–98]. Specifically, the meta‐analysis of experimental driving studies indicates that cannabis had a consistent effect upon lateral control and speed.…”

“…Does driving under the influence of cannabis constitute impaired driving? The results of the metaanalyses clearly indicate that driving under the influence of cannabis is impaired driving, and there is no evidence that cannabis improves driving ability, as some drivers would like to believe (Watson et al, 2019;Brooks-Russell et al, 2019;Swift et al, 2010;Terry & Wright, 2005).…”

“…The rationale for this hypothesis rests on an important assumptionnamely, that drivers make a conscious choice to compensate for increased driving task difficulty (versus reducing their speed as a consequence of a more automatic, perceptuallydriven process; Ward & Dye, 1999), and that their conscious choice is not simply a demand characteristic arising from observation by researchers. Indeed, studies have found that some 232 individuals who drive while under the influence of cannabis do report making conscious efforts to compensate for their intoxicated state by decreasing their driving speed, as well as by increasing their following distance and engaging in generally more "careful" or more "cautious" driving (Watson et al, 2019;Brooks-Russell et al, 2019;MacDonald et al, 2008). As predicted by Fuller's (2005) model, research has also found that some individuals have reported compensating at a strategic level while under the influence of cannabis, such as by delaying the start of the drive or limiting the amount of cannabis consumed prior driving (Watson et al, 2019;Swift et al, 2010).…”