Medicine alert for drivers
Kelvin Healey
May 06, 2007 12:00am
ABUSE of prescription drugs may be costing lives on Victorian roads, according to analysis of tests on drivers killed in the state.
These tests show prescription drugs that can impair driving ability are more common than amphetamines.
Last year, 19 of the 184 drivers killed tested positive to benzodiazepines -- minor tranquilisers that include valium, xanax and temazepam.
The findings came as research revealed almost one in three Victorians admit to driving in defiance of advice on the medication they are taking.
And police said it was only a matter of time before motorists were subjected to roadside testing for misuse of prescription drugs.
Many prescription drugs do not affect driving when used in accordance with medical advice, but police and drug experts say the misuse of the medications is having a deadly impact on the roads.
Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine data revealed almost 40 per cent of drivers killed last year had drugs, legal or illegal, in their system -- almost double the rate recorded in 2001.
And the rate of drivers killed who had benzodiazepines in their system had spiralled from 3.6 per cent in 2001, to 10.3 per cent last year.
