5-7
Other Drugs
Besides alcohol and marijuana, many other drugs can affect
a person’s ability to drive safely. These drugs can have
effects like those of alcohol or even worse. This is true of
many prescription drugs and even many over-the-counter
(OTC) drugs you can buy without a prescription. Drugs taken
for headaches, colds, hay fever, or other allergies or those
to calm nerves can make a person drowsy and affect their
driving ability. Pep pills, “uppers”, energy drinks, and diet
pills can make a driver feel more alert for a short time. Later,
however, they can cause a person to be nervous, dizzy, unable
to concentrate, and can affect your vision. Other prescription
drugs can affect your reexes, judgment, vision, and alertness
in ways similar to alcohol. If you are arrested or convicted of
driving under the inuence of drugs, the penalties are the same
as for any alcohol violation.
If you are driving, check the label before you take a drug for
warnings about possible after-effects. If you are not sure it is
safe to take the drug and drive, ask your doctor or pharmacist.
Many drugs multiply the effects of alcohol or have other side
effects. You should read the warnings on your medicine or talk
to your pharmacist before you drink and use medicine at the
same time. This combination not only affects your ability to
be a safe driver but could cause serious health problems, even
death.
For example, studies have shown that people who use drugs
make more mistakes, have more trouble adjusting to glare, and
get arrested for trafc violations more than other drivers.
Over-the-counter medications, such as certain cough
suppressants, sleep aids, and antihistamines, can be abused
for their effects. This typically means taking doses higher
than recommended or combining OTC medications with
alcohol, or with illicit or prescription drugs. Either practice
can have dangerous results, depending on the medications
involved. Some contain aspirin or acetaminophen, which can
be toxic to the liver at high doses. Others, when taken for their
“hallucinogenic” properties, can cause confusion, psychosis,
coma, and even death.