DUI DWI arrests are usually due to the use of alcohol as well as illegal drugs.
Not everybody knows that legal drugs, prescription medicines and other over the counter drugs can also cause impaired driving and could even lead to arrest. For example, antidepressants, allergy pills and certain medications can lead to drowsiness. If you crash your car, you will be at fault for driving under the influence – not of illegal drugs, but of legal drugs.
Depending on the state, arrest made on DUI or DWI are usually made when the one who is steering and controlling the vehicle is affected by the alcohol, or drugs he or she took to a substantial degree. Almost every state punishes drivers whose driving impairment is caused not only by alcohol and illegal drugs, but legal drugs as well.
One example of a state that punishes drivers under the influence of legal drugs is the Massachusetts state law, which mentions stimulant substances, depressants, and narcotic drugs in their list of impairment-causing drugs. California is also very clear about DUI/DWI cases with its state law saying that both illegal and legal drugs can cause addiction, which can lead to driving impairment. That makes the driver subject for arrest.
There are no standards about how much amount of legal drugs in someone can or cannot cause driving impairment. This means, it is not like driving under the influence of alcohol where the blood alcohol level should be at 0.08% maximum to make an arrest.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found out that there are more night time driving impairments caused by both illegal and legal drugs including stimulants, antidepressants, sedatives, and even narcotic analgesics. The NHTSA is making moves as of now to determine the legal drugs and the standard dosage for it to be subject for DUI/DWI arrests.
To make sure that you will overcome this situation if ever you made a mistake of taking in legal drugs that may cause impairment, you can consult or hire lawyer to represent you.
