How to Spot a Driver on Drugs

 Posted on July 19, 2022 in Personal Injury

After an accident involving a drunk driver, it is usually fairly obvious that they have been drinking. As soon as they exit their vehicle, you can smell alcohol on them. They are slurring their words and stumbling or falling over. You have probably been around drunk people before and know generally what to look for.

Spotting a driver who is intoxicated by a substance other than alcohol can be a little more difficult. There may not be any kind of noticeable odor. Unless you have spent considerable time around drug users, you might not have a very developed sense of what to look for. In some cases, even trained police officers can fail to notice that a driver is under the influence of drugs. Knowing the signs of drug intoxication can help you catch on quickly if your car accident was caused by an impaired driver.

Signs of Drug Intoxication

There are often signs of an intoxicated driver’s impairment if you know what to look for. The problem is that most people who do not have a drug user in their life do not know what the signs of drug impairment are. When the driver who just hit you steps out of the vehicle, look out for:

• Sleepiness - A fatigued or sleep-deprived driver is usually wide awake on the side of the road even if they were quite literally asleep at the wheel when the accident happened. Adrenaline will wake up a driver who is merely tired. If the other driver seems to be having trouble staying awake, they might be “nodding,” a common indicator of opiate use.
• Confusion - Many drugs can affect a user’s short-term memory, resulting in disjointed speech or confusion. A drugged driver may forget why they are on the side of the road and attempt to drive away in a wrecked vehicle or wander off. Or, they may not be able to hold a conversation that makes sense. However, these symptoms could also be caused by a head injury.
• Nasal symptoms - If the responsible driver is continuously wiping their nose or sniffling, it could be because they have insufflated (snorted) drugs like cocaine. It could also be bad allergies, so look for another sign to corroborate this theory.
• Distracted - People who have drugs in their car may be much more interested in rapidly hiding or disposing of the illegal substance than they are in swapping insurance information. If the other driver seems preoccupied with moving things around inside their vehicle or you see them chuck something over the guardrail, they could be hiding evidence of drug use.

Many of these indicators might have an alternate explanation, but if you notice multiple signs, then you may want to take note. If you suspect that the liable driver is intoxicated, you should alert the police to your suspicions.

Contact a DuPage County Car Accident Lawyer

If you have been injured by a potentially intoxicated driver, Mevorah & Giglio Law Offices may be able to help you recover compensation. Our skilled Bloomingdale car accident attorneys will seek out evidence that corroborates your theory that the driver who hit you was under the influence of drugs. Call 630-932-9100 to start with a free consultation.

Source:

https://americanaddictioncenters.org/adult-addiction-treatment-programs/know-is-someone-on-drugs