Incredible but true. Driving stoned is safer than driving drunk, according to the feds.

The Drug and Alcohol Crash Risk report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reveals drivers testing positive for marijuana are at a significantly lower risk for a crash than drivers that use alcohol. Potheads were also no more likely to crash than drivers that had not used any drugs or alcohol prior to driving.

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The findings from an NHTSA study point out that the measurable presence of THC in a person's system doesn't correlate with impairment in the same way that blood alcohol concentration does.

THC or tetrahydrocannabinol is marijuana's primary active ingredient. It's the chemical responsible for most of marijuana's psychological effects.

"At the current time, specific drug concentration levels cannot be reliably equated with a specific degree of driver impairment," said the NHTSA about cannabis.

In other words, when you adjust for factors such as age and gender, there's hardly any difference between driving stoned or sober when it comes to the risk of a car crash.

The report, however, cautions that its findings "do not indicate that drug use by drivers is risk-free." It emphasized there are limitations to this single study that "need to be carefully considered before more definitive conclusions about drug use and crash risk can be reached. "

The report said the risk of crashing while driving with a blood-alcohol concentration of .05 or above is about seven times higher than the risk of crashing while sober. The likelihood of getting into an accident while using some other substances such as marijuana is statistically not significantly higher than driving while sober, after adjusting for various demographic factors.

The survey said marijuana is the second most frequently detected drug, after alcohol, in drivers involved in accidents. Overall, the report found drivers that tested positive for THC were 25 percent more likely to get in an accident.

But after accounting for other characteristics that can be associated with an increase in crash risk (factors like age, gender and race) the study found the risk of a crash nearly vanished in drivers who had used marijuana.

"This analysis shows that the significant increased risk of crash involvement associated with THC and illegal drugs ... is not found after adjusting for these demographic variables".