When most people hear the dreaded words Driving under the Influence they see dollar signs because of the costs involved anymore. Organizations like M.A.D.D. and S.A.D.D. have done a terrific job of heightening awareness across the country on driving under the influence of alcohol. States like New Mexico have come the furthest but only because it seemed like they were a safe haven for drunk drivers. Today there is a new problem!
One of the unspoken related problems of drunk driving is drivers falling asleep while intoxicated. Now there is a new epidemic sweeping the country in the form of sleepwalking drivers-driving under the influence of the most popular prescription sleep medication in the U.S. – Ambien.
Drivers who are unaware they are asleep at the wheel are a rising threat on U.S highways according to a recent NY times article. In Washington State alone in 2005, for example, 78 impaired drivers were arrested, up from 56 the previous year, with Ambien in their bloodstream. According to the Times article, ten state toxicology labs that test for the presence of the drug rate it as one of the top ten found in impaired drivers yet most states do not even...