The FDA is taking aim at drowsy driving. When it comes to allergy drugs, the agency is warning that these drugs (antihistamines used to treat hay fever during allergy season) can make people too tired to be behind the wheel of a car, or too tired to operate heavy machinery.
Drowsy driving, which can be a particular problem for truck drivers logging too much time behind the wheel, isn't particularly front and center, as compared to drunk driving or texting while driving. These tend to be the more obvious dangers. But being too tired to be driving, to the point at which you actually fall asleep while behind the wheel or take your eyes off the road can be just as dangerous.
For obvious reasons, the FDA wants drivers to avoid this. As Ryan Jaslow reports for CBS News, the FDA has recommended that people pay attention to what kind of allergy medicine they use and the dosage. Not all dosages of all brands work the same. Some could make you drowsier than others. So if a particular brand and dosage works, keep that in mind, and get the same thing the next time you go to the store.
But this is even better. Jaslow quotes one doctor: "If you have to be awake or doing something that requires operating machinery, it's better to take at nighttime."
Source: FDA: Allergy medications may make you too drowsy to drive