Medicated drivers increase road risks, AAA says

(NBC News) – New data from AAA has found that out of more than 3,000 adults surveyed, half say they take at least seven different medications.

“Of those medications that they’re taking, one in five could potentially impair their ability to drive safely,” says AAA’s Tamra Johnson

Patients are being urged to have a discussion with their doctor about how their prescriptions could affect their ability to drive.

“Some of the medications that we use for a lot of common conditions – especially common conditions in the elderly – can actually cause problems in terms of their driving safety, their response time, their vision and so forth,” says Dr. Donald Ford with the Cleveland Clinic.

AAA says that 42 million men and women over the age of 65 are drivers.