According to a poll, 1 in 10 drivers has admitted their ability to drive was impaired after taking medication, whilst 3 per cent actually admitted to having had an accident or near miss when driving under the influence of prescription or over-the-counter drugs.
12 per cent of all those questioned also admitted to not realising they could be breaking the law if they drive while affected, with almost a third of people saying they regularly take medicines and drive.
The poll of drivers carried out by road safety expert GEM Motoring Assist, has led them to develop a new leaflet to raise awareness of the issues associated with driving whilst affected by prescription medicines.
The leaflet, which is supported by Resident GP of ITV’s This Morning, Dr Chris Steele MBE, answers questions and offers guidance on being aware of how medication can affect our driving and that it is actually illegal to drive when taking certain medicines.
Dr Chris said: “In some circumstances driving while impaired by medication can be as dangerous as ‘drink driving’. I strongly support the advice given in this leaflet that drivers taking medicine should always check with their doctor or pharmacist before they drive.”
The poll also revealed that 7 out of 10 people thought that they were not given enough information about medicines and driving when given prescriptions, and 1 in 4 admitted to being confused by the warnings given on medicine packaging.
Of further concern to GEM is the fact that 3 in 10 people said they did not know how to find out if medicines were likely to affect their driving.
To download the leaflet, visit: http://www.motoringassist.com/motoronmeds.
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