Many of us take some kind of medication to help ease daily aches and pains or to manage serious health issues.
But whether it’s over the counter, prescription or traditional healing medication, it’s important to remember that they all have the potential to impair your mind and body and make it unsafe and illegal to get behind the wheel.
How medication can affect your driving
It can be unsafe to drive after taking medications. Medication can change the way you see, hear, and process information, your reaction times and your perception of reality. They can also make you more fatigued.
Here's a few medications that are more likely to cause impairment:
- strong painkillers
- depression medication
- heart medication
- allergy medication
- sleeping tablets
- anti-psychotic medication
- epilepsy medication
- addiction treatment
- nausea medication
- anxiety medication.
With some medical conditions, and with older age, the likelihood of taking multiple medication at the same time increases. Different medicines can interact with one another and increase the risk of impairment.
Alcohol or illegal drugs if taken along with medicine can intensify the effects. Sometimes the impairment lasts many hours after the alcohol or illegal drugs have been consumed (even into the next day).
Check to see if you’re impaired
If you are prescribed medication that may impair your driving, you need to know the signs of impairment.
Check yourself for the symptoms of impairment before you leave, and throughout your journey. These could include:
- feeling drowsy or sleepy
- dizziness or blurred vision
- headache
- feeling weak
- slowed reactions
- feeling sick or nauseous
- being easily confused or unable to focus or pay attention
- slurred speech or have trouble forming a sentence
- feeling wired and overconfident (those around you might notice this first).
If you recognise symptoms of impairment, or feel concerned that you might be, trust your gut and don’t drive.
Listen, or talk to people around you if you are unsure about impairment. If someone thinks you are unsafe to drive because of impairment symptoms, do not drive.
The consequences of taking medication and driving
The consequences of driving after taking medication that may impair your driving are serious and not worth the potential consequences which may include:
- Death or serious injury – you may kill or seriously injure yourself or other people.
- Disqualified from driving – you may be disqualified from driving if you drive while impaired. The length of the disqualification depends on how severe the offence is, ranging from three months to several years.
- Travel restrictions – many countries won’t let you visit if you have a criminal record, including an impaired driving conviction.
- Job loss – you might lose your job if you have a driving conviction. Depending on your job and contract, you might face disciplinary action, suspension, or termination.
- Offences/infringements – you may have to pay tickets, which can range from a few hundred dollars to several thousand dollars. You may also have to pay court costs and legal fees.
- Criminal record – impaired driving is a criminal offense in New Zealand, which means that if you are convicted, you’ll have a criminal record. This can have long-term consequences for you and all aspects of your life.
Always make responsible choices and plan ahead to ensure you never drive after using drugs.
What you can do
If you’re already driving and notice the signs of impairment, pull over and stop driving and call friends or family for help. If you’re worried about how impaired you are, get advice from a health care professional. If the impairment is severe call 111.
Before you get behind the wheel, find out more and make a plan for getting around while taking medication:
- Find out what the effects of the medication are. Talk to a health care professional (nurse, doctor, pharmacist) about any medication you’re taking, as well as any other substances such as alcohol or illegal drugs) to find out how they might affect your driving. If you are taking multiple medications, make sure you find out how the combination may have different effects.
- Make a plan for how you can avoid the effects impacting your driving. This could mean only driving at certain times of the day or avoiding driving when starting a new medication.
- Know your options for getting around if you are concerned or feel impaired. Get a ride with family or friends. Use public transport available in your area, call a taxi, or walk. If you feel unwell, take a raincheck until a day that you feel better.
What does the law say?
It’s illegal to:
- operate heavy machinery when impaired, which includes cars
- drive when impaired, whatever the cause of the impairment might be, such as alcohol and/or drugs, illness or injury
- drive if you’re under the legal limit for alcohol consumption but impaired due to other substances.
Offences and penalties apply if you take any of the below 25 specific drugs above the legal limit when driving.
More information and support
