Three Things You Can Do To Avoid Drug-Impaired Driving
May 14, 2021
Drug-impaired driving includes all drugs including alcohol and can have a significant impact on your ability to operate a vehicle safely. While certain drugs will impact your driving abilities in different ways, they will all impact the chances that you will end up in a New Haven auto accident that may result in an injury or worse, a fatality.
Some of the effects of drugs on your ability to drive effectively include slowing down reaction times, increase your aggressiveness when driving, causing you to be drowsy. Depending on the drug you are impaired by the effects may be different, but any alteration to your abilities can cause serious impacts.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) there are some things you can do to prevent yourself from being in a situation where you are impaired and driving. These things include, but are not limited to;
- Designate a driver. This requires some planning, but if you know you will be taking a drug that impairs your abilities behind the wheel, you will want to ensure that you have someone who is not impaired to drive you to your destination.
- Always wear your seatbelt. Regardless of if you are impaired or not, you should be wearing a seatbelt. If you are impaired, this is significantly more important.
- Do not let your friends get behind the wheel if they are impaired. This can be challenging to take the keys away from someone who thinks they are “fine to drive” but the embarrassment of it all may save their life and embarrassment will turn into thanks the next morning when the effects of the drugs have worn off.
If you’re planning on using drugs that are going to impair you while driving, make plans to not drive. Take this initial step before your evening begins will help you to avoid a New Haven auto accident and arrive at your destination safely.
Injuries from auto accidents happen, but mitigating your risks is the best thing you can do to keep yourself safe. If you have been in an accident you may need to speak to an attorney to help protect your long-term interests. Contact our office for an experienced attorney to review your case.