Drugged driving is a complex issue that can lead to charges

Young adults who are 18 to 25 years old have the distinction of being the age group most likely to drive after drinking or doing drugs. The likelihood of this happening goes down for people who are 26 or older. The shocking facts about drugged driving don’t stop there.

In a study done in 2014, 10 million people who responded noted that they drove after doing drugs. The shocking things about this fact are that the respondents were as young as 12 years old, and the question only took the previous year into account.

Unfortunately, determining the exact number of drugged driving incidents that occur annually is difficult because drugs sometimes remain in your system long after the effects have worn off. This makes it almost impossible to accurately test a driver.

There are a host of drugs that are associated with drugged driving charges. Many people might assume that these are all illegal drugs, but that isn’t the case. Even drugs that you don’t think twice about taking, such as antihistamines, can lead to criminal charges if they impact your ability to drive. Any substance that makes you a threat to people on the road with you could get you into trouble.

When you are trying to decide if you are good to drive after taking medication, you need to think about how it impacts you. Many medications have warnings that let you know not to drive until you know how the medication will impact you. It is a good idea to heed these warnings.

People who do end up facing drugged driving charges might need to work hard on a defense. These charges are serious and can be complex, so don’t put off starting your defense for too long.

Source: National Institute on Drug Abuse, “Drugged Driving,” accessed Sep. 27, 2017