Be careful with painkillers
Half of the Dutch adults who use medicines use medicines that have a negative influence on driving ability. 2.1 million of them take medicines that affect driving ability to a ‘serious or potentially dangerous’ degree. A (presumably considerable) proportion of them still drive a car, simply because they are not sufficiently aware of the dangers. Opioids (painkillers) are particularly common in the category of drugs ‘with serious or potentially dangerous influence on driving ability’.
Research by the Institute for Responsible Use of Medicine (IVM) and the Stichting Pharmaceutical Kengetallen (SFK) over the period November 2021 to October 2022 shows that 5.4 million Dutch people used medicines that could negatively affect driving ability. In 2.1 million cases, it concerns medicines for which driving is temporarily or even not allowed at all. These are often sleeping pills and tranquilizers (1.6 million users) in the opioid category. Think of oxazepam, temazepam and diazepam. Heavy painkillers also form an important part of the category of drugs that you are not allowed to drive with.
The research combination did a small sample of drug users, which shows that some of them – consciously or not – still drive while taking heavy drugs. The organizations do indicate that a larger study is needed for representative figures. Every year, the IVM draws attention to responsible use of medicines and this year’s theme is ‘medicines and traffic’, in order to give more publicity to the negative consequences of medicine use on driving skills. It points to the website www.rijveiligmetmedicijnen.nlwhere knowledge is shared about the effects of all kinds of medicines.
You can also check on that website what effect the medicines you may be taking have on your driving ability. Handy to know, because it is officially prohibited and also of course dangerous to drive under the influence of drugs that impair driving abilities.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl