Evaluating Drugged Driving: Effects of Pain and Anxiety Medications

To extend the National Advanced Driving Simulator’s research program into distracted driving and drug-influenced driving, the authors' group studied the effects of a frequently prescribed combination of sedating drugs: hydrocodone/acetaminophen (an opioid pain-relieving medication) and alprazolam (a benzodiazepine useful for muscle relaxation and sedation). The authors administered the drugs in a ‘within-subjects design’ utilizing a double-blind, double-dummy, placebo-controlled cross-over protocol. The four arms of the study included: placebo, alprazolam alone, hydrocodone/acetaminophen alone, and a combination of alprazolam and hydrocodone/acetaminophen. The eight subjects then completed a well-standardized NADS driving protocol on the MiniSim. Experimental parameters included measures of lateral and longitudinal control. The data were reduced and then statistically analyzed using SAS statistical software. The statistical analysis revealed that alprazolam significantly affected measures of both longitudinal and lateral driving control – such as the standard deviation of lane position (SDLP). Detrimental effects appeared more in rural scenarios and at higher speeds. Hydrocodone/acetaminophen results showed only minor nonsignificant deviations from the placebo condition. An analysis of the combination of alprazolam and hydrocodone/acetaminophen showed almost no interaction effects. Subjects also rated alprazolam as significantly more sedating than placebo or hydrocodone/acetaminophen. The authors' findings show that alprazolam much more impressively affected measures of importance in driving control. Although both drugs produce psychoactive effects at the doses studied and in the driving conditions studied, the alprazolam showed more severe deviations from placebo; furthermore, in combination, alprazolam and hydrocodone/acetaminophen did not affect driving more than alprazolam alone. These results may have significant implications for driving safety and accident morbidity and mortality.

• Record URL:
  http://safersim.nads-sc.uiowa.edu/final_reports/UI_2_Y3_Report.pdf
• 
• Supplemental Notes:
  • This document was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation, University Transportation Centers Program.
• Corporate Authors:

  Safety Research Using Simulation University Transportation Center (SaferSim)

  University of Iowa
  Iowa City, IA  United States  52242

  Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

  University Transportation Centers Program
  Department of Transportation
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Gaffney, Gary
  • Brown, Timothy
  • Milavetz, Gary
  • Spurgin, Andrew
• Publication Date: 2017-5

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Figures; References;
• Pagination: 30p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Anxiety; Diseases and medical conditions; Drugged drivers; Highway safety; Human factors in crashes; Impaired drivers; Medication
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01644709
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: UTC, NTL, TRIS, ATRI, USDOT, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Aug 29 2017 10:09AM