Tranquilizers increase older drivers' accident risk

ASSOCiATED PRESS

CHICAGO Elderly drivers who take Valium or other commonly prescribed
tranquilizers are more likely to get into serious accidents, a study
found.

During the first week of tranquilizer use, the risk was 45 percent
higher than it was for other elderly drivers, and afterward, it was about
25 percent higher, researchers reported in today's issue of The Journal
of the American Medical Association.

Valium belongs to a family of drugs called benzodiazepines, which are
among the most frequently prescribed medications to relieve nervousness
and insomnia in the elderly.

The downside of the drugs besides their tendency to be habitforming
is that they delay reaction time and can cause drowsiness and
confusion.

In the study, only longacting benzodiazepines were linked to driving
risks. Longacting benzodiazepines include Vahum (diazepam), Kionopin
(clonazepam), Trarixene (clorazepate), Librium and Librax
(chlordiazepoxide), Dalmane (flurazepam) and nitiazepam.

No elevated risk was linked to the shortacting drugs: Xanax
(alprazolam), Ativan (bromazepam, lorazepam), Serax (oxazepam), Restoril
(temazepam) and Halcion (tilazolam).

The study involved 5,579 drivers ages 67 to 84 who were in
injurycausing crashes in Quebec from 1990 to 1993.