Can the use of tranquilisers and sleeping pills affect the driver's control of the trajectory of the car?

Tranquilisers and sleeping pills slow down the nervous system: they lengthen reaction time, cause drowsiness and weaken concentration and coordination of movements. A driver who has taken such medicines judges distance worse and corrects the car's path more slowly, so they may drift out of the lane or react too late on a bend. The answer is: yes, they can affect control of the car's path.

The Road Traffic Act prohibits a person who is under the influence of a substance that acts similarly to alcohol from driving a vehicle, and such substances include, among others, benzodiazepines, which are common tranquilisers and sleeping pills. Before driving, check the leaflet: a pictogram with a car or the note "this medicine may impair the ability to drive vehicles" means that you do not get behind the wheel.

Legal basis: Art. 45 para. 1 point 1 of the Road Traffic Act (Prawo o ruchu drogowym); the Regulation of the Minister of Health on the list of substances acting similarly to alcohol