Wood County Prevention Coalition
Uniting For A Drug-Free Community Since 2004
CDOT survey paints grim picture of risky driving behavior
By Zach Thaxton
KOAA News
Posted March 6, 2017
Colorado drivers are engaging in risky behavior behind the wheel at an alarming rate, according to results of a Colorado Department of Transportation survey released Monday.
The survey, sent to nearly 900 Coloradans in November, featured 30 questions related to seatbelt use, speeding, distracted driving, and driving after drinking, using marijuana, or taking prescription medication. Participants were able to remain anonymous. "A lot of times, when it's anonymous, people tend to be a little more honest," said CDOT spokesperson Michelle Peulen.
Among the more alarming results: 22 percent of respondents admitted to reading texts, emails, or checking social media while driving. 57 percent of respondents who use marijuana say they have driven within two hours of consuming it. 38 percent of respondents who drink alcohol say they have driven within two hours of drinking.
While some 88 percent of drivers said they wear a seatbelt all the time, one particular group of drivers is most likely to decline seat belt use. "Folks who drive pickup trucks are less likely to wear their seat belt," Peulen said. "Of those drivers of pickups, they're less likely to wear their seat belt on (rural) roadways."
Read the full survey and its results here:
https://www.codot.gov/safety/safety-data-sources-information/driver-surveys
https://www.codot.gov/library/surveys/2016-driving-behaviors-survey
Original Source: http://www.koaa.com/story/34680967/cdot-survey-pains-grim-picture-of-risky-driving-behavior
Booze, Pot, Grades
By Emily Tate March 9, 2017 Inside Higher Ed
A new study out of Yale University confirms a notion college and university administrators have held for years -- that substance abuse is linked to a decline in student grades -- but this study also reveals a number of trends among college students that surprised its authors.
Researchers at Yale University and the Institute of Living in Hartford, Conn., found that students who drank a moderate to heavy amount of alcohol actually had similar grade point averages to those who consumed little or no alcohol. However, students who used moderate to heavy alcohol as well as marijuana saw their grades plummeting.
The study tracked more than 1,100 students at two unnamed colleges in Connecticut over the course of two years, beginning with their first semester of freshman year. The students involved in the study answered a series of questions about their patterns of substance use every month.
To the authors’ surprise, very few students reported using marijuana while abstaining from alcohol -- so few, in fact, that they could not draw conclusions about that subgroup of students.
The researchers found that although the 1,100 students achieved comparable SAT scores, their academic performance varied greatly in college. Students who drank minimal alcohol and used minimal marijuana had an average GPA of 3.10, while those who drank alcohol earned an average GPA of 3.03. The most dramatic change occurred in students who used both alcohol and marijuana -- their GPAs averaged 2.66.
Godfrey Pearlson, senior author of the study and professor of psychiatry and neuroscience at Yale, said the combination of those two drugs can have a number of different effects on student achievement.
“If you’re hanging out with friends and drinking and smoking marijuana, it’s time you can’t spend studying -- that’s one explanation,” Pearlson said.
Student death has area colleges re-evaluating binge drinking
By Max Filby - Staff Writer March 10, 2016
Dayton Daily News
Freshman Erica Buschick was excited to return to Miami University following a long winter break at her Chicago-area home and decided to socialize with friends over drinks.
Buschick and her roommate began drinking at about 10 p.m. on Jan. 19, consuming approximately two bottles of champagne between them, a Miami police report says. They then filled a water bottle about halfway with vodka and went to an off-campus apartment to drink more.
The next morning, Buschick’s roommate found her unresponsive in their door room.
The 18-year-old’s death and other recent alcohol-related incidents — including several dozen citations at the University of Dayton for underage drinking — has area universities re-evaluating their efforts to prevent binge drinking, which impacts more than half of Ohio’s college students, according to one estimate.
But as serious a problem as binge drinking is on some campuses, colleges may be powerless to do much about it.
Binge drinking rates on college campuses are more influenced by the price and availability of alcohol and statewide policies than the efforts of universities, said George Dowdall, who serves as a board member for the Clery Center for campus safety in Washington, D.C.
“It’s a toxic combination,” Dowdall said. “What we’ve learned in the last 10 years is that colleges and universities know they have a big problem.”
Around 51 percent of Ohio college students binge drink, according to studies by Mothers Against Drunk Driving and the National Institute for Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
Binge drinking is considered five drinks for a man inside two hours and four for a woman in the same period. One drink may be a 12-ounce beer with five percent alcohol, one glass of wine or one shot of hard liquor.
Did you know?
Wood County Prevention Coalition Meeting
Friday, Apr 28, 2017, 08:30 AM
Wood County Educational Service Center, 1867 N Research Drive, Bowling Green, OH
RSVPs are enabled for this event.
About Us
Our Vision: Helping youth be drug-free, productive and responsible citizens.
Our Mission: We are a coalition of compassionate community members working together to coordinate high quality programs for the prevention of youth substance abuse in Wood County.
Email: mkarna@wcesc.org
Website: wcprevention.org
Location: 1867 Research Drive, Bowling Green, OH, United States
Phone: (419)-354-9010
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WCPCoalition
Twitter: @woodpccoalition