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The report reads: \u201cMany medications used to treat medical conditions can also impair safe driving as they may have side effects including drowsiness, dizziness, hypotension, hypoglycaemia, fainting, blurred vision, and loss of co-ordination.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen carrying out medical investigations, DVLA is increasingly having to take into consideration the potential cumulative effects of a combination of medical conditions and medication and whether this is likely to affect driving safety.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although medication can affect anyone, elderly drivers are disproportionately more affected than younger road users.<\/p>\n
Data from the DVLA shows that the bulk of cases involving medical conditions come from those above the age of 60.<\/p>\n
DON’T MISS <\/strong> We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info<\/p>\n Motorists between the age of 70-79 make up the bulk of the DVLA\u2019s casework with officials holding 16,000 investigations into single medical conditions.<\/p>\n A further 10,000 checks are currently being made for those between 70 and 79 with multiple medical conditions.<\/p>\n Drivers between 60 and 69 are the second highest demographic followed by those between the ages of 50 and 59.<\/p>\n Thousands more checks are held for drivers over the age of 80 desperate to cling onto their licence.<\/p>\n Earlier this year, road safety charity IAMRoadSmart warned there was a \u201chidden epidemic\u201d of prescription drug driving in Britain.<\/p>\n A survey of 3,000 found that a whopping 30 percent of drivers did not know how much prescription medication they could take before it impacted their driving skills.<\/p>\n A further 22 percent of drivers admitted they rarely or never checked if medicines handed out by doctors could have an effect on their driving ability.<\/p>\n Antony Kildare, CEO of IAMRoadSmart said: \u201cWhen people think of driving while under the influence of drugs, they will probably, quite understandably, think of those who get behind the wheel after taking illicit and recreational substances such as cocaine, cannabis or ecstasy.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd yet legal drugs that are used for medicinal purposes can often be just as potent, and could profoundly impact a driver\u2019s judgement while behind the wheel.\u201d<\/p>\n
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