The Texas Department of Public Safety says it is coming across more and more intoxicated drivers. That isn’t really surprising to a Houston car accident attorney considering that our state and especially the Houston region, has some of the worst drunk driving rates in the country. However, this new breed of intoxicated drivers is driving not under the influence of alcohol, but under the influence of prescription medications.

In fact, according to the Texas DPS, they often come across motorists driving in the early hours of the morning still high from the effects of prescription medication they took the night before. According to the Brazoria County Dist. Atty. it’s not uncommon for troopers to come across cars in which motorists have simply fallen asleep from the effect of the medications.

Driving under the influence of prescription medication is not exactly a new phenomenon for any Houston car accident attorney. This does however get less attention than it should when it comes to discussing the causes of accidents in the Houston area.

Certain types of medications like anti-hypertension medications or anti depressants could cause drowsiness. Drowsiness is also another common side effect of cold medications and cough syrups. Anyone who is on such medications could be at risk for drowsy driving. Older people seem to be at an especially greater risk because they may be on a variety of medications, and these drugs could interact with each other to cause drowsiness.

Unfortunately, drowsy driving isn’t really a high priority for law enforcement officers and legislators in Texas. We don’t have laws that prohibit driving in a fatigued state, except for drivers of commercial vehicles. In fact, only the state of New Jersey has laws banning drowsy driving for motorists. Considering that lifestyle diseases like diabetes, hypertension and others are so common these days, we should be taking a harder look at how the medications that these people take, impact their driving abilities.

Vuk Vujasinovic is a Board Certified Houston personal injury attorney who practices Houston auto accident and other personal injury cases.

For more info on how Vuk can help you with your potential case please call him at (877) 724-7800 or fill out the contact form on the right.

Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.