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: 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.