Drugged Driving Poses New Challenges for Law Enforcement

There are more numbers of motorists causing accidents under the influence of prescription drugs, but law enforcement officers in Texas and elsewhere are confounded about how to handle this new and growing threat . 

There is a growing number of Americans on prescription medications, many of these with serious side effects that can affect their ability to drive.  Our healthcare system is overstressed, and doctors may not always be able to explain each and every side effect to a patient. Unlike with drunk driving, where you can test whether a person is driving with more than the legally allowed level of alcohol in his system, there's no such test for prescription drugs. 

Besides, there is serious misuse and abuse of prescription medications in this country.   These medications can react with alcohol, other medications and even with the foods a person eats, impacting the person's ability to drive.  The same medication may be ingested differently by two different persons, impacting their driving skills in different ways. Most people assume that cold medications are the usual culprit when it comes to prescription drug-induced drowsy driving.  However, there are other medications that can also impact a person's driving skills.  For instance, stimulants may make a person take unnecessary risks, while anti-anxiety drugs could affect reaction times.

It doesn't help matters that the infrastructure to crack down on motorists driving under the influence of prescription drugs, is woefully inadequate.  Several states are trying hard to get more drug detection officers, who are specially trained to detect the presence of medications, as well as technology that can help such detection.  As Houston, Texas injury attorneys for clients who are injured by drivers operating vehicles under the influence of drugs and alcohol, we believe there is definitely a need for more such officers in Texas.

If you're on medication, then you must know what kind of effect these drugs could have on your driving.  Merely being prescribed the drugs and not being aware of the side effects, is not likely to be an excuse if you end up causing an accident.