Prescription Meds Are Killing Motorists, Authorities Say

Driving under the influence of prescription meds has become an increasingly deadly problem countywide, says Riverside County Deputy District Attorney David Tahan.

“We’re seeing it more and more,” he told Patch Friday. “Just because you’ve been prescribed something by a doctor, doesn’t mean you can get behind the wheel. Usually, prescription drugs are designed to impair the senses.”

The California Office of Traffic Safety concurs with Tahan.

“You can be as deadly behind the wheel with marijuana or prescription drugs as you can with over-the-limit alcohol,” said Christopher J. Murphy, director of the Office of Traffic Safety. “The bottom line is drugs and driving do not mix.”

According to data the California Office of Traffic Safety derived from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 30 percent of all drivers who were killed in motor vehicle crashes in California in 2010 tested positive for legal and/or illegal drugs, a percentage that has been increasing since 2006, the OTS contends.

Tahan said of the drugged-driving cases involving doctor-prescribed meds that come before the Riverside County DA’s office, Xanax, Hydrocodon, Seroquel, Ambien, and medical marijuana are the most commonly implicated drugs, but there are others.

Unlike alcohol, where there are clear established impairment levels under state law, prosecution evidence in drugged-driving cases relies heavily on witness and law enforcement testimony, along with lab results on blood, Tahan said.

To help ensure drugged drivers are prosecuted when involved in crashes, in January the Riverside County Board of Supervisors approved a $360,000 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety that provides for a specialized team to investigate and prosecute the felony DUI with injury and DUI-related vehicular homicide cases out of the DA’s Southwest Riverside Office.

The DA’s office has reported a swell in DUI fatality cases countywide. to read about those cases.

Additionally, the California Highway Patrol is working together to provide officers statewide with specialized training to detect and apprehend drug-impaired drivers, according to a news release this week from the OTS.

“Drugged driving is a problem not widely recognized by the public, but increases in crashes, fatalities and injuries point out that we all must acknowledge this serious problem and work to curb it,” the OTS news release stated.

In December, Lake Elsinore resident James Ryan, 66, died days after crashing his car head on into an off-duty Orange County sheriff’s deputy on the Ortega Highway. According to CHP Officer Nathan Baer, Ryan was driving under the influence of doctor-prescribed medications. to read that story.

"Doctor-prescribed medication can impair a person's ability to operate a motor vehicle," Baer said after the crash. "The CHP urges patients to consult with their doctors about the side effects and impairments that are caused by prescribed drugs."