Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 8, 2026

Driving Under the Influence: How Music Listening Affects Driving Behaviors
Published on: March 27, 2019
Driving after drug or alcohol use by US high school seniors, 2001-2011
Patrick M O'Malley1, Lloyd D Johnston
1The authors are with the Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Objectives:
We examined prevalence, trends, and correlates of driving or riding after use of drugs or alcohol among US high school seniors from 2001 to 2011.
Methods:
Data come from Monitoring the Future, an annual survey of nationally representative samples of high school seniors. We used logistic regressions with data from more than 22,000 respondents to examine multivariate associations with demographic and lifestyle factors.
Results:
Large numbers of US high school seniors put themselves and others at great risk of harm by driving after using marijuana or other illicit drugs or drinking alcohol or by riding in a vehicle whose driver had used marijuana, other illicit drugs, or alcohol. Driving after drinking has declined in recent years, but driving after use of marijuana has increased. A higher percentage of students reported driving after using marijuana than after having 5 or more alcoholic drinks. Risky driving and riding behaviors differed little between demographic subgroups but considerably according to lifestyle factors.
Conclusions:
Stronger efforts are needed to combat adolescent driving under the influence of illicit drugs.
Related Concept Videos
Substance Use Disorders Affecting Sleep
Understanding the concepts of physical dependence,...
Drug Abuse and Addiction: Pharmacological Phenomena
Drug Dependence
Hypothesis Test for Test of Independence
H0: The two variables (factors)...
CNS Depressants: Alcohol and Nicotine
Depressants
Alcohol is a common depressant that can induce a sense of relaxation and reduced inhibition at low doses. Contrary to its occasional...

