Medication warning to older drivers
Older drivers who use medications like sleeping pills, anti-depressants or mood stabilisers are more likely to be involved in motor vehicle accidents, according to a new Australia study. Led by Lynn Meuleners, the study examined local hospital/crash statistics.
Older drivers who use medications like sleeping pills, anti-depressants or mood stabilisers are more likely to be involved in motor vehicle accidents, according to a new Australia study.
Led by Lynn Meuleners from the Curtin Monash Accident Research Centre (C-MARC), the study examined local hospital/crash statistics and found older drivers taking psychoactive drugs such as benzodiazephines were five times more likely to be involved in an accident resulting in hospitalisation. Those taking anti-depressants were reportedly twice as likely to be involved in hospitalisation crashes.
The study looked at more than 600 West Australian drivers aged 60 years and older who were hospitalised as the result of a motorvehicle accident between 2002 and 2008.
Associate Professor Meuleners compared the possible level of impairment caused by these drugs to that experienced when drinking alcohol.
She told The West Australian the types of medications studied “act on the central nervous system” and can “slow reaction times”, making the person drowsy.
“Add age on top of that, and possibly other medications, and the risks when driving increase,” Professor Meuleners said.
She believed the results would be particularly useful in road safety and for GPs when explaining the risks of medication to their patients.
The study would be useful for doctors prescribing psychoactive drugs, but Professor Meuleners claimed she did not “automatically endorse” more restrictions on older drivers.
Is your elderly loved one prescribed any of these drugs and still actively drives? Share your concerns by commenting in the box below.
