You might never put yourself in the same category as a marijuana or a cocaine user, but if you take certain prescriptions or over-the-counter drugs and get behind the wheel of an automobile, you’re driving under the influence. You can be ticketed, jailed, or cause an accident – any of which can affect your premiums next time you’re looking for car insurance quotes or renewing your policy.
Reaction to drugs and their affect on your driving can depend on your age, weight, interaction with other drugs including alcohol and whether or not you’ve eaten recently. Even a drug you’ve taken without incident in the past can insurance unpredictably impair your ability to drive. A University of Minnesota study found that some antihistamines actually impair a driver’s abilities to a greater extent than alcohol! Worse, unlike alcohol, some drugs stay in the body for days or weeks.
The affects of prescription and OTC medications can be subtle or gross. Reactions range from drowsiness to delayed reflexes, slowed reaction time, dizziness, hallucinations, confusion, blurred vision, loss of muscle coordination and seizures. They’re all bad news if they insurance happen while you’re driving. Several states now define “drugged driving” as the inability to drive safely due to driver impairment from a controlled substance.
If stopped and suspected of being drugged, after a field sobriety test, you may be subjected to a urine or blood test based on the officer’s discretion. The fact that you caused an accident or property damage because it was a prescription drug won’t matter to the police or your car insurance company; it will go on your driving record and can result in higher rates.
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