There are strict laws in every state about driving under the influence of alcohol. That’s because legislators realize that alcohol impairs reaction time and judgment and increases the risk of accidents. People are much less aware that some prescription medications may also increase the risk of car crashes.
Taiwanese researchers tracked over 5,000 drivers who had been involved in motor vehicle accidents over a decade and compared them to more than 30,000 control subjects. They found that people taking antidepressants, anti-anxiety drugs and Z-drugs for sleeping were at substantially higher risk of an accident. Z-drugs include the sleeping pill zolpidem, zaleplon and zopiclone. Doctors and pharmacists should warn patients that such medications may interfere with safe driving.
[British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, online Sept. 12, 2012]
