When you go to the doctor, and they prescribe you medication, you need to ensure you understand the implications of taking it. Some people are so happy to get access to helpful drugs that they pick them up from the pharmacy and take them without giving a thought to any possible side effects. It’s always worth asking the doctor or pharmacist and reading the instructions.
One dangerous side-effect some prescription medications have is that they can affect your driving. Here are just a few ways that medication can impair your ability to drive safely.
They may cause drowsiness
Staying awake at the wheel can be hard enough if you are tired after a sleepless night or a long day at work. Popping a pill with soporific side effects might make keeping your eyes open impossible. Antihistamines are one medicine that can have this effect. Others include opiate painkillers and, perhaps more obviously, medications that help calm anxiety or help with sleep disorders, such as Benzodiazepines.
Some drugs can have disorienting side effects
Many medicines sold over the counter for colds or allergies also contain problematic drugs such as Diphenhydramine. They can reduce your ability to maintain a constant position on the road. This can mean that you drift across lanes or drift too close to the car in front of you, making you more likely to run into them if the driver in front of you brakes suddenly.
Taking care to understand your own medications is only part of the issue. The roads are full of others who may not be so careful. If one of them injures you in a collision, getting legal help to determine if they were affected by medication could help you to get the compensation you deserve.
