Penalties for driving while under the influence of drugs can include jail time and losing your license, which is why understanding the rules is so important.<\/p>\n
A warning has been issued reminding drivers that it is illegal to get behind the wheel with certain drugs in your system \u2014 even if those medications are legal and prescribed by a doctor.<\/p>\n
When driving, you must be fully alert and able to focus, and anything that affects your awareness or reaction time can become dangerous.<\/p>\n
Most people know there are restrictions on taking certain medications abroad when flying, but the laws around driving while using drugs appear to be far less understood.<\/p>\n
Just as you can face fines or imprisonment for carrying medication that is banned in another country, drivers can also face serious consequences for ignoring laws related to drug use behind the wheel.<\/p>\n
Put simply, in England, Scotland, and Wales, it is illegal to drive if \u2018legal drugs in your body impair your driving\u2019.<\/p>\n
This guidance comes directly from the official UK government website, making it something drivers should pay close attention to.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s what you should know about what is and isn\u2019t permitted.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019ve been prescribed any of the following medications, you should speak with your doctor before driving:<\/p>\n
amphetamine, for example dexamphetamine or selegiline
\nclonazepam
\ndiazepam
\nflunitrazepam
\nlorazepam
\nmethadone
\nmorphine or opiate and opioid-based drugs, for example codeine, tramadol or fentanyl
\noxazepam
\ntemazepam<\/p>\n
Still, don\u2019t panic as this of course isn\u2019t a blanket ban and you can still take one of these and drive if you\u2019ve followed the advice on how to take them by a healthcare professional.<\/p>\n
Understandably, you have to make sure they\u2019re not causing you to be unfit to drive \u2013 even if you\u2019re above the specified limits, in most cases it\u2019s okay as long as it\u2019s not impacting your ability.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, if you haven\u2019t been prescribed one of these drugs and you\u2019re found driving with them in your system, this is when you could face serious consequences and be prosecuted.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The law does not cover Northern Ireland but you could still be arrested if you\u2019re unfit to drive, the government website adds.<\/p>\n
What happens if you\u2019re caught drug driving in the UK?
\nPenalties for drug driving can vary from a minimum one year driving ban or an unlimited fine to up to six months in prison and a criminal record.<\/p>\n
On top of this, your driving licence will show you\u2019ve been convicted for drug driving for a whopping 11 years.<\/p>\n
And the maximum penalty for causing death by careless driving under the influence of drugs is life imprisonment.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s also not just legal troubles you\u2019ll face \u2013 the issues can actually seep into your personal life too.<\/p>\n
The government advises that your car insurance costs will increase significantly if you\u2019re done for driving on drugs.<\/p>\n
If you drive for work, your employer will see your conviction on your licence and you may also have trouble travelling to countries like the US.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
So all in all, as you can see, it\u2019s really not worth it and it\u2019s important to check up on the facts and touch base with your doctor if you\u2019re taking new medication.<\/p>\n
It comes as Greg Wilson, founder of car insurance specialists at Quotezone, has warned people on three specific prescription meds to \u2018avoid driving\u2019 altogether.<\/p>\n
He explained: \u201cIf you are on strong medications, it is likely that you will be recommended to avoid driving.\u201d<\/p>\n
The expert told Birmingham Live: \u201cOpioid painkillers, tranquillisers, and certain antidepressants are examples of medicines that can affect driving ability \u2013 as well as those that cause drowsiness or say \u2018do not operate heavy machinery.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u200cRoad safety charity, Brake, added that these warnings can be \u2018vague or in small print only\u2019 and \u2018they may indicate there is a risk of impairment but not relate it to driving\u2019.<\/p>\n
This is why it\u2019s always important to seek advice if you\u2019re unsure, so we can keep the roads safe for everyone.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Penalties for driving while under the influence of drugs can include jail time and losing your license, which is why understanding the rules is so<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10222,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10221","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-viral-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/viralscontent.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10221","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/viralscontent.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/viralscontent.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/viralscontent.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/viralscontent.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10221"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/viralscontent.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10221\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10223,"href":"https:\/\/viralscontent.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10221\/revisions\/10223"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/viralscontent.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/10222"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/viralscontent.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10221"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/viralscontent.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10221"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/viralscontent.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10221"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}