Driving while medicated Published July 3, 2012 By Cindy McClendon 17th Training Wing Safety GOODFELLOW AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- Everyone has heard of the dangers of drinking and driving. Every year thousands of people are injured or killed in drinking related accidents. The message on drinking and driving is reaching the masses and hopefully with enforcement and education these accidents will decrease. Yet, there is another type of driving problem that causes many accidents every year. This problem does not seem to receive the attention of drinking and driving. The problem is, drivers operating automobiles while under the influence of prescription medications. Quite often a driver is not even aware of the effects a medication is having on their driving (www.springfieldmo.gov ). In many cases, the driver's prescribed medication can have the same effect on their ability to drive as driving while intoxicated. Accidents can, and do happen, when even observant drivers are not alert to the warning signs on a prescription bottle. One out of every four Americans takes some kind of drug every day to go to sleep, wake up, lose weight, gain weight, calm down, perk up, stop sneezing, fight allergies, lower blood pressure, or relieve pain. Several of these drugs can impair a person's coordination, reaction time, judgment, vision, hearing, concentration, or put them to sleep (www.nhtsa.gov). The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has determined that prescription medications are the most common drugs, excluding alcohol, implicated in automobile accidents. In a study the administration conducted of five hundred injury-causing accidents one out of eight of the drives had traces of a legal drug in his or her system (www.nhtsa.gov). A fact that is not well known is that driving while impaired under the influence of medication is just as illegal as drinking and driving and has the same penalties. When your doctor prescribes a medication for you, ask him or her about the potential side effects of the medication. In addition, you should specifically ask if the medication could possibly affect your driving abilities. Please be sure to follow your doctor's instructions for your medication and don't drive if you are not 100 percent alert. Examples of "potentially driver impairing (PDI)" medications include: Drug Class Possible Effects Anti-Diabetic Drugs Hypoglycemia (Anxiety, weakness) Anticholinergic Blurred vision Narcotic analgesics Sedation (Induces sleep) Anti-hypertensive drugs Hypotension (Confusion, dizziness) Sedative/Hypnotics Sedation Antidepressants Sedation, dizziness Allergy drugs Sedation, dizziness Anti-arrhythmic Fainting (syncope) Anticonvulsants Ataxia, dizziness, sedation Skeletal Muscle Relaxants Dizziness, sedation
