Citation

Verster JC, Mets MAJ. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2009; 6(3): 1041-1054.

Affiliation

Utrecht University, Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Science, Psychopharmacology Section, P. O. Box 80082, 3508TB Utrecht, The Netherlands. j.c.verster@uu.nl

Copyright

(Copyright © 2009, MDPI: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute)

DOI

10.3390/ijerph6031041

PMID

19440432

PMCID

PMC2672393

Abstract

Driving a car is important to maintain independence and participate in society. Many of those who use psychoactive medication are outpatients and are thus likely to drive a vehicle. Most common adverse effects that impair driving are reduced alertness, affected psychomotor functioning and impaired vision. This review discusses the effects on driving ability of most commonly prescribed psychoactive drugs, including hypnotics, antidepressants, antihistamines, analgesics and stimulant drugs. Within these categories of medicines significant differences concerning their impact on driving ability are evident. The International Council on Alcohol, Drugs and Traffic Safety (ICADTS) categorization can help physicians to make a choice between treatments when patients want to drive a car.

Language: en