medications and drowsy driving Tag Archives

Published on: April 14, 2025

Your Medications Could Increase Your Car Accident Risks

The medications that you are currently taking could increase your risks of being involved in an auto accident. Since car accidents are a major cause of severe personal injuries, it is important to evaluate the medications you are taking to determine if they increase your risk of an accident. If so, you may wish to adjust your driving habits to reduce the risk of being in an accident and suffering injuries.

Most medications come with little or no drowsy driving risks. Many of them, however, do include risks that can affect a persons’ driving abilities, and patients may remain unaware of the dangers of using these medications, especially when they operate a motor vehicle. Some medications are widely known to have drowsiness- inducing properties. For instance, anti-allergy medications or those that are used to treat common colds and coughs may come with ingredients that increase a person’s sleepiness and make him feel lethargic. A person using these drugs is much more likely to cause an accident if he is driving a vehicle while under the influence of the drug. Medications that include codeine and hydrocodone, for example, are strongly linked with drowsiness and fatigue.

Apart from cold medications and antihistamines, many Americans now take a wide range of medications to treat a variety of conditions. There has been an explosion in lifestyle conditions, and millions of Americans now take beta blockers to treat heart disease and cardiovascular conditions. Beta blockers can cause symptoms like giddiness, dizziness and extreme tiredness that could prove dangerous when the person is behind the wheel. Anti-anxiety medications, antipsychotic drugs as well as anti-depressants are also strongly linked to drowsiness.

Published on: November 24, 2023

Drowsy Driving Linked to 100,000 Car Accidents Every Year

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Motorists driving while fatigued or sleepy cause as many as 100,000 car accidents every year. This November, the National Sleep Foundation is marking Drowsy Driving Prevention Week to raise awareness about the dangers of driving while sleepy.

The National Sleep Foundation commemorates the first week of November every year as Drowsy Driving Prevention Week to coincide with the end of daylight savings time. The National Sleep Foundation estimates that as many as 100,000 car accidents every year are caused by drivers who are too sleepy or fatigued to drive. According to the National Sleep Foundation, more than half of all American motorists admit to regularly or consistently driving while sleepy. About 20% of American drivers admit to having operated a motor vehicle while sleepy at least once in the past year. Clearly, there are far too many people who feel comfortable driving a car when they are simply too tired or sleepy to do so.

Some categories of motorists may be at a greater risk of drowsy driving than others. For example, motorists between the age of 16 and 25 are at a higher risk of driving while sleepy. Male motorists may also be much more likely to find nothing wrong while driving in a sleepy condition compared to female drivers. Shift workers and commercial drivers like long haul truck drivers may also be at higher risk of not getting enough sleep resulting in drowsy driving. Apart from these business travelers as well as persons suffering from medical conditions like sleep apnea are also at a higher risk. Apnea is a sleep condition that causes a person to suffer from respiratory interruptions during sleep at night which causes the person to be fatigued and sleepy in the daytime. Sometimes, drowsy driving is the result of taking medications like anti -depressants and antihistamines that may have sleepiness as a side effect.

Published on: July 20, 2014

Prescription Medications May Increase Risk of Drowsy Driving Accidents

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Most motorists assume that if they have had their full eight hours of sleep and don’t take medications within a certain number of hours before driving, they are at a low risk of falling asleep at the wheel. However, new data suggests that those taking sleep medications or antidepressants may be at a higher risk of dozing off and being involved in a car accident.

Recently, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned of an increased risk of drowsy driving the day after using the popular sleep aid Lunesta. Lunesta contains eszoplicone which remains in the system several hours after taking the medication. The agency is especially concerned about the potential for next-day driving impairment with the use of this drug. It claims that the drug can possibly cause next-day impairment of driving as well as other important functions and, therefore, has recommended that the starting dose of the medication be reduced to 1 mg at bedtime.

The FDA is asking healthcare providers and doctors to follow the new recommendations for the administration of Lunesta for first time prescriptions.

Published on: November 6, 2012

Depression, Anxiety Drugs Can Increase Potential for Car Accident

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

A recent study found that certain common prescription drugs used to treat conditions like depression, anxiety, and other mental disorders can actually increase the risk of car accidents.

According to the study, which was published in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, an individual’s risk of a car accident may increase if he takes medications that are used to treat these conditions.In fact, the links between these medications and an increased risk of car accidents is strong enough for researchers to warn doctors that they should alert patients who are taking these medications not to drive after taking them.

The researchers specifically focused on on psychotropic drugs that are often used to treat depression and anxiety.These drugs can alter the way the brain functions.Ultimately, the side effects of the drug can impair the person’s ability to control a vehicle.

Published on: July 21, 2008

Truck Accidents Caused by Medically Impaired Drivers

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

If you have been involved in an accident or crash with a tractor-trailer or a bus, the statistics reveal the driver may have been medically impaired.The Associated Press reported today that it obtained an advance copy of a Government Accounting Office report showing that over 500,0000 of the country’s commercial truck drivers also qualify for full federal medical disability payments.Over a thousand drivers had vision, hearing and seizure disorders.

As far back as 2001, safety regulators advised the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the government office responsible for regulating commercial truck and bus drivers, that reforms must be undertaken to insure that those carrying commercial drivers licenses are medically fit to drive.

In 2006, the federal Transportation Department issued 7.3 million commercial driving citations for violating federal medical rules.Twelve states, one of which was Georgia, accounted for over half of the violations.