NCJ Number
239458
Date Published
March 2011
Length
28 pages
Annotation
This research examined prescription and over-the-counter medications that may impair driving.
Abstract
In November 2008 and again in March 2009, an expert panel was convened by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to determine which medications or classes of medications potentially pose a hazard to driving. Discussions included illicit drugs, best known for their impairing effects, and prescription (Rx) and over-the-counter (OTC) medications which also produce impairment, many of which are frequently encountered in impaired driver populations. This document serves to inform patients and physicians regarding the likely effects of a drug on driving which can further lead to better-informed prescribing practices, as well as to provide a more rational selection of medications by patients. The developed list of "safe" medications that do not impair driving is also presented in this document. The panel was composed of an international group of behavioral scientists, epidemiologists, pharmacologists, toxicologists, and traffic safety professionals to provide a broad-based perspective on the issue. The panel concluded that one of the barriers to categorizing drugs with respect to driving impairment risk is the lack of a common, standardized protocol for assessing the impairing potential of drugs; that there is a need for a structured, standardized protocol for assessing the driving impairment risk of drugs that would lead to better classification of drugs in terms of driving impairment risk, and that the approach could be useful in providing more meaningful precautions for users and prescribers regarding the impact of drugs on driving. Also included in this report is the background for the project and assembly of the expert panel, a description of the proposed protocol, and examples of how the protocol could be useful in evaluating a drug. References and appendixes