Driver Behavior Post Cannabis Consumption: A Driving Simulator Study in Collaboration with Montgomery County Maryland

TL;DR

This study used a driving simulator with eye-tracking to assess how medical marijuana affects driving behavior, finding increased braking intensity at traffic lights post-consumption but no change in response to pedestrians.

Contribution

It provides novel insights into specific driving responses post cannabis use using a simulator and eye-tracking, which has not been extensively studied before.

Findings

Participants brake harder at traffic lights post cannabis use.

No significant change in response to jaywalking pedestrians.

Eye gaze patterns remain consistent pre and post cannabis consumption.

Abstract

Montgomery County Police Department in Maryland hosted a cannabis intoxication impaired driving lab, to evaluate the driving behavior of medical marijuana users, pre and post cannabis consumption. A portable driving simulator with an eye-tracking device was used where ten participants drove a virtual network in two different events: a traffic light changing from green to yellow and the sudden appearance of a jaywalking pedestrian. An accelerated failure time (AFT) model was used to calculate the speed reduction times in both scenarios. The results showed that the participant speed reduction times are lower i.e., they brake harder post cannabis consumption, when they encounter a change in traffic light whereas there is no statistical difference in speed reduction times pre and post cannabis consumption, when they encounter a jaywalking pedestrian. The gaze analysis finds no significant difference in eye gaze pre and post cannabis consumption in both events.