Are You Taking a PDI Medication?

What is a PDI medication? PDI stands for Potentially Driver Impairing. Some medications can cause attention problems, blurred vision, nausea, sleepiness, or slowed reaction time as side effects. Those difficulties can cause problems if they occur while you are driving.

Many common medications, both prescription and over-the-counter, have PDI side effects. These include amphetamines, antidepressants, antihistamines, muscle relaxants, prescription pain medications, and sleep aids.

A US nationalsurvey by AAA found that in a single 30-eay period:

•  Almost half of all those surveyed had taken one or more types of PDI medications within 2 hours of driving.
• Almost two-thirds of those taking two PDI meds drove within 2 hours of the dose.
• Almost three-quarters of those taking three PDI meds drove within 2 hours of taking them.

 The survey also found that:

• Over a third of those taking antihistamines or cough medicines were driving within 2 hours.
• Almost two-thirds of those taking antidepressants were driving within 2 hours. 
• Nearly three-quarters of persons taking amphetamines drove within 2 hours.

You may not be aware of the danger of driving when these medications are prescribed. These types of side effects are listed on the packaging and the enclosed data sheet for pills. But how many people bother to read all that? Your doctor should also warn you when giving the prescription, yet up to half of drivers said their doctor had not mentioned anything about side effects.

Consider your meds list before you pick up the car keys the next time. You may need to have a designated driver when taking certain medications. Other options include asking your doctor for an alternative prescription, or if you can take a lower dose or change the schedule for when you are taking the meds during the day.

Don’t put other drivers and yourself at risk. Check whether it is safe to drive when you are taking each of your medications.