Introduction
Sleep Driving
Sleepdriving is newly discovered hazard, often associated with the sleep drug Ambien (manufactured by Sanofi-Aventis).
Sleep-driving is similar to sleep-walking...people act
like zombies and have no recollection of their activities. Sleep-drivers may actually drive their cars and
have severe auto accidents, yet have no recollection of the events.
An article in the New York Times includes this description:
... the drivers tend to stand out from other under-the-influence motorists. The behavior can include driving in the wrong direction or slamming into light poles or parked vehicles, as well as seeming oblivious to the arresting officers, according to a presentation last month at a meeting of forensic scientists.
"These cases are just extremely bizarre, with extreme impairment," said Laura J. Liddicoat, the forensic toxicology supervisor at a state-run lab in Wisconsin who made the presentation.
Her presentation, which reported on six of the cases, was made at a meeting of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, where her counterparts from other parts of the country swapped similar tales...
Doctors affiliated with the University of Minnesota Medical Center who have studied Ambien recently reported the cases of two users who told doctors they sleep-drove to the supermarket while under the drug's influence. Neither of the patients remembered the episode the next day, according to Dr. Carlos Schenck, an expert in sleep disorders who is the lead researcher in the study....The traffic cases around the country include that of Dwayne Cribb, a longtime probation and parole officer in Rock Hill, S.C. Mr. Cribb says he remembers nothing after taking Ambien before bed last Halloween ? until he awoke in jail to learn he had left his bed and gone for a drive, smashed into a parked van and driven away before crashing into a tree. Mr. Cribb is still facing charges of leaving the scene of an accident.
Conclusion
Persons taking Ambien should do whatever they can to avoid sleep-driving. The use of Ambien with anti-depressants, alcohol and a variety of other drugs is strngly discouraged. If you take Ambien and are subsequently involved in an accident, you may wish to refer to http://AmbienLawsuit.com