Benzos and Driving

[[Buddie]]

Here in my country we are about to introduce legislation which allows the police to test drivers for drugs when they are pulled over.  Originally it was just for stree drugs but after a media campaign the Govt has altered this to include benzos.

Yesterday in our local newspaper there was a letter from one very concerned lady stating that she had been on benzos for many years for anxiety and agoraphobia and is now really concerned that her one outlet - her ability to drive - is about to be taken away from her.  I know the support group I go to has had a few phone calls from people in similar situations expressing their concern and in some cases their anger at this new legislation.  Obviously these people have no comprehension of benzos and the nightmare they could have if they decided to stop the medication.  I know when I was on 2mg of Clonazepam I felt very "drugged" and made the decision myself to stop driving as I considered myself a danger on the road.

Just a question to other BBs from around the world - what is your country's legislation re driving and benzo use?  And has anyone else felt their driving was impaired through being on benzos?

[[Buddie]]

[...] - where are you from?

I'm in Indiana. I haven't heard of any such laws. I am not in favor of big gov't and think that there are all ready too many laws out there, but I would be in favor of something like this.

[[Buddie]]

I don't know how you could measure for benzos and get an accurate impression of how much, or if, a person is being affected in a way that would impact their driving ability.

First off, there are many people who at a certain dose are "normal", any less then that dosage then they are in withdrawals (which is bad for driving), any more then that they may be "intoxicated", so to speak (which is also bad for driving).

Secondly, because of tolerance you wouldn't be able to come up with a good benzo measurement that would indicate how incapacitated a person is.  For some, 0.5mg Xanax knocks them out, while others 2mg Xanax has virtually no affect.

Thirdly, because of the large variance in benzo half-lives how are they going to tell how long ago the benzo was ingested, and whether it's still exerting an influence?

Lastly, like someone mentioned, many people need their benzo just to be able to function normally.

Sounds like a bad road to be going down.

[[Buddie]]

I'm in New Zealand - population 4+ million.  Just a little country which seems to be over-regulated in a lot of ways.

I too wonder how they are going to measure benzos, I'm guessing it will have to be a blood test.  I must investigate this further.  I agree that some people function quite normally on benzos and will probably choose never to quite them whilst others are affected horribly.  Just seems to me the whole things needs more investigation rather than being rushed into law.

[[Buddie]]

[...]- I am in Illinois, USA....benzo's are a controlled substance, I think a class 3 or 4. From my understanding, say someone who is on X benzo and is in an accident that they caused, they could be/would be charged with a DUI- driving under the influence. This is a great subject to bring up. I will research when I have some time soon laws in Illinois/USA regarding benzo's, DUI's and such.

The real kicker though...the prescription bottle does not say "DO NOT DRIVE WHILE TAKING THIS MEDICATION" but says "USE CARE WHEN OPERATING A CAR OR HEAVY MACHINERY"


One thing I know for sure, my doctor never said not to drive....in all honesty, I don't think it effected my driving significantly though.

[...]

[[Buddie]]

[...]- I am in Illinois, USA....benzo's are a controlled substance, I think a class 3 or 4. From my understanding, say someone who is on X benzo and is in an accident that they caused, they could be/would be charged with a DUI- driving under the influence. This is a great subject to bring up. I will research when I have some time soon laws in Illinois/USA regarding benzo's, DUI's and such.

The real kicker though...the prescription bottle does not say "DO NOT DRIVE WHILE TAKING THIS MEDICATION" but says "USE CARE WHEN OPERATING A CAR OR HEAVY MACHINERY"


One thing I know for sure, my doctor never said not to drive....in all honesty, I don't think it effected my driving significantly though.

[...]

In Indiana you used to have to show ID to get them. Not anymore.

[[Buddie]]

I believe that a ton of the presriptions for benzos are of the take 3 or 4 times daily type.  These people wouldn't be able to drive at all!

[[Buddie]]

My bottle says (said) "take care if driving or operating heavy machinery", but the pharmacist didn't supply any additional info regarding the meds at all.  I questioned my local pharmacy as to why no warnings re addicition or the side effects of benzos are given out with the pills - she just stated it was not their responsibility to do so.  Well hell if my psychdoctor didn't warn me, my GP didn't warn me, the pharmacist didn't warn me, maybe a change of legislation regarding their non-regulated prescription is necessary.  Might be something I need to take up with someone in the future.

My psychdoctor told me about one of his patients who was on 20mg Clonazepam daily and he said this person was able to function normally and drive a car - now that really is scarey.  This person would definitely be in line for arrest if caught driving.  Personally I didn't believe that anyone could function normally on 20mg of C'[...], so was he telling me the truth, somehow I doubt it.  He was also the one who told me he "dropped a few benzos" whenever he travelled overseas so he could get his body clock functioning in the new time zone.  That's when the warning bells rang for me - not because he took a few benzos, it was the language he used.  Sounds a little like "street drug" talk to me.

[[Buddie]]

My bottle says (said) "take care if driving or operating heavy machinery", but the pharmacist didn't supply any additional info regarding the meds at all.  I questioned my local pharmacy as to why no warnings re addicition or the side effects of benzos are given out with the pills - she just stated it was not their responsibility to do so.  Well hell if my psychdoctor didn't warn me, my GP didn't warn me, the pharmacist didn't warn me, maybe a change of legislation regarding their non-regulated prescription is necessary.  Might be something I need to take up with someone in the future.

My psychdoctor told me about one of his patients who was on 20mg Clonazepam daily and he said this person was able to function normally and drive a car - now that really is scarey.  This person would definitely be in line for arrest if caught driving.  Personally I didn't believe that anyone could function normally on 20mg of C'[...], so was he telling me the truth, somehow I doubt it.  He was also the one who told me he "dropped a few benzos" whenever he travelled overseas so he could get his body clock functioning in the new time zone.  That's when the warning bells rang for me - not because he took a few benzos, it was the language he used.  Sounds a little like "street drug" talk to me.

I was up to 16 mgs for a while.

[[Buddie]]

Wow - 16 mgs, I was on 2mg at the start and was a living zombie.  How did you cope on 16mgs?