The biggest danger on the highway isn’t what you think it is

Warning: You could be driving drugged…without even knowing it

The police in Miller Place, N.Y. were sure they were dealing with a drunk driver.

First, a girl on a bicycle was struck — and killed. And the car that hit her didn’t stop until it crashed into another vehicle further down the road.

But the driver insisted that she hadn’t been drinking. She had only taken some drugs. No, not the illegal kind, but ones her doctor had prescribed.

And it’s happening all over the country.

A doctor in Wisconsin crashed his SUV into another car, killing a pregnant woman and her 10-year-old daughter. He wasn’t drinking either, but was taking three different prescription drugs.

And even if you don’t have a terrible accident, you can still be charged and fined…or even go to jail for driving under the influence of such meds.

Like the man in Maine who was pulled over because of a noisy muffler. The officer didn’t think he looked right, even though he insisted he wasn’t drinking. And he was telling the truth. He was only taking the painkillers his doctor had prescribed.

That driver ended up spending a week in jail and having his license suspended.

All of those DUI’s were due to legal drugs prescribed by doctors.

When you hear this — you’ll be just as stunned as I was.

A recent study that looked at traffic data over the last 20 years found that prescription drugs were involved in fatal crashes almost 50 percent of the time.

Rx drugs caused more deaths on the highway than alcohol and three times as many as marijuana use. And the study found that as more and more of us are taking multiple drugs, the risk is getting higher and higher.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse says that “even a small amount of some drugs can have a measurable effect on driving ability.”

And if you’re involved in an accident, don’t think you can just tell the judge that what you took was what your doctor ordered, either. Because DUI means driving under the “influence” of anything that impairs your ability to drive.

It won’t matter if that drug came from a guy on the corner or the corner CVS.

Obama’s drug czar, R. Gil Kerlikowske warned “you can be as deadly behind the wheel with prescription drugs as you can with over-the-limit alcohol, and you are responsible for your own actions.”

And police departments around the country are now being specially trained to spot drivers who are too drugged on prescriptions to drive, as well as getting new equipment that might be able to detect it.

To keep you and your family safe, the best way is to not be taking any drugs, prescription or even certain OTC ones. Then even if another driver on the road is “impaired” you’ll have all your wits about you.

But if you have to take a drug, remember to first read the label carefully and look for any warnings about “operating heavy machinery,” or anything that talks about drowsiness or next-day impairment.

Some of the drugs involved in these terrible crashes include opiate painkillers, “benzo” kinds of drugs (like Valium and Xanax), and any kind of sleeping meds. And those sleeping pills (like Belsomra, and Ambien and Intermezzo) can cause a frightening condition called “psychomotor impairment,” that can last well into the next day!

And remember, most of these drugs have never been tested in combinations so we don’t know if the impact on your motor skills is exaggerated. But we do know that the more drugs you take, the greater the risk that you may not be fit to drive.

Sources:
“Study: Prescription drugs cause more fatal car crashes than marijuana” Chris Roberts, SF Weekly News, sfweekly.com