Question
Many widely used prescription and over-the-counter medications can cause drowsiness and/or impairment in users. In most cases, however, there is little guidance provided in laws, rules, instructions or labeling, to help people determine what medications could affect their ability to drive or operate other vehicles. Studies suggest, as with alcohol, an individual's perception of their level of impairment is not a good indicator of their actual impairment.
http://www.truckinginfo.com/news/news_detail.asp?news_id=45200&news_category_id=3
It will be interesting to see which over the counter medications are included in the study as well as what the final outcome will be.
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United We Stand
Answer
As many medications affect persons differently.
I know people who sware that Ibuprofen makes them drowsy yet nothing in the formulary has any affect on the central nervous system from that standpoint.
I know others who live on muscle relaxers yet have no difficulty remaining awake and alert while taking them. They knock me right on my butt!!
What I would like to see is an extension of this study to include prescription meds that drivers may be on that DO NOT affect their ability to drive but may be construed by an examining physician to indicate a medical diagnosis of some sort. For instance.... A poster in the Medical forum indicated that he is on a fluid pill. The examiner issued a 1 year medical card based on his understanding that the medication was one normally used to control blood pressure, therefore, this driver MUST have high blood pressure and must get a restricted card. When this was NOT the reason the medication was prescribed. Many meds have dual purposes. It is the diagnosis that is the deciding factor, not always the medication.
Tegretol is most commonly used to control seizure activity but has other uses unrelated to seizures. However, a driver on Tegretol will have extreme difficulty obtaining a DOT medical certification.
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