All Drugs – Even the Legal Ones – Can Create Dangerous Drivers

Most people think of marijuana, cocaine, heroin, meth, or ecstasy as the types of drugs that impair your driving capabilities and cause dangerous crashes. However, even the legal drugs that your doctor prescribes or that you buy over the counter can have serious effects on your driving.

Most of the time, these drugs will provide a warning label, but it is common for people to ignore these labels or find out that the medicines affect them in different ways than others. In addition, many doctors, nurses, and pharmacists may be rushing and forget to go over the risks of certain medications, which can create dangerous and deadly impaired driving situations on the roadways.

Which illegal drugs can create dangerous Chicago drivers?

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, there are many different illegal drugs that can create dangerous drivers. The effects are similar to drunk driving, which puts you, your passengers, and other drivers and road users at risk of a serious accident and injuries. A few of the different types of illegal drugs that are known to lead to dangerous and devastating crashes across Chicago include:

• Marijuana: Those who use marijuana before getting behind the wheel may have decreased reaction times, lack of attention on the roadways, and an increase in weaving between lanes.
• Cocaine: Those who use cocaine before driving may become increasingly agitated, aggressive, and even reckless.
• Methamphetamine: Similar to cocaine, drivers who use methamphetamine before operating a vehicle may become easily irritated, aggressive, careless, and reckless.
• Ecstasy: Using ecstasy before driving a vehicle can lead to blurry vision, lack of judgment, and perception issues. Most people who use ecstasy and get behind the wheel may feel more energetic or confident, which can result in aggressive driving, road rage, and inability to make fast decisions.

Which legal drugs can create dangerous Chicago drivers?

Legal drugs are described as medications prescribed by physicians directly to the patient or purchased over the counter at a drugstore. While most people only associate illegal drugs with causing driving impairments, legal drugs also have the ability to impact a person’s safe driving practices. Here are some of the legal drugs that can create dangerous drivers:

• Cold and allergy medications: Cold and allergy medications can lead to severe drowsiness, which can affect your ability to remain alert, pay attention, or even stay awake behind the wheel.
• Antidepressants: Antidepressants are essential as they treat depression and other mental health issues. However, they can also lead to drowsiness and increased anxiety. As a result, you may have trouble remaining alert, awake, or fully concentrating on the roads.
• Pain relievers: Pain relievers are necessary for those who recently had a medical procedure done or simply have painful migraines or back aches. You must be cautious when taking pain relievers before driving as they can impact your ability to focus and cause nausea and vomiting.
• Caffeine and other stimulant medicines: Many people take caffeine and stimulant medicines to help them stay awake and get through the day. However, if you are overly exhausted, there is a possibility that the medications may not work effectively, which can cause you to suddenly fall asleep behind the wheel.
• Sleep medications: A lot of individuals have trouble sleeping at night. As a result, they may decide to take sleep medications to help them get a good night’s sleep. However, if you take sleeping pills before you make it home, you may experience extreme drowsiness and instant fatigue.
• Muscle relaxants: Muscle relaxants help your muscles relax. Therefore, if you take muscle relaxants before getting behind the wheel, you may experience lack of coordination and control, which can make it extremely difficult to drive.
• Anti-seizure medicines: Anti-seizure medicines are necessary to prevent seizures while driving. However, some anti-seizure medicines can cause drowsiness and fatigue.
• Antipsychotic medications: Antipsychotic medications are known to treat mental health issues, such as hallucinations, violent outbursts, and delusions. However, these medications can also result in severe drowsiness.
• Blood pressure pills: When a person has high blood pressure, they may need blood pressure pills to help them get their blood pressure under control. While these pills have great benefits, they can cause your heart rate to slow down too quickly, which can lead to dizziness and drowsiness.

Some eyedrop brands can even be dangerous. For example, if you take eye drops and then operate a vehicle, you may realize that the eye drops are dilating your pupils or causing your vision to become blurry. If this is the case, you should pull over as quickly as possible and refrain from driving until your eyes return to normal.

How to find out whether the medicine you are taking should be taken before driving

If you have never taken a specific medicine or are not sure how it will affect your driving, you should take the time to determine whether it is something you should take before getting behind the wheel. You can do this by:

• Speaking to your doctor or nurse about the prescriptions or over-the-counter medications you are taking or planning to take
• Speaking to your pharmacist about the risks of driving while taking the prescribed medication
• Speaking to a drugstore worker about recommendations for non-drowsy over-the-counter medications while driving
• Searching the internet for information about the prescription or over-the-counter drug that you are taking or planning to take and whether you should operate a vehicle while doing so

If you were recently involved in a crash caused by an impaired or drugged driver, please do not hesitate to get in touch with the Chicago car accident lawyers at Gainsberg Injury and Accident Lawyers at your earliest opportunity. Regardless of whether the at-fault party was driving with alcohol, illegal drugs, or prescription medications in their system, they can be held accountable for their careless and reckless behavior. Call our office or submit our contact form to schedule a free case review to get started on your claim today.