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The National Safety Commission has issued a report on dangers of the use of high energy drinks and driving a car. Drinks such as Rockstar, Monster and Red Bull have become very popular among young adults over the past ten years. They have been marketed as drinks to increase an athletes performance but their primary use has been to help college and other young students as a study aid to stay awake.
Because of this several scientific reports have warned about the consumption of these highly caffeinated energy drinks and have recommended that the FDA require warning labels on cans of high energy drinks. Current Food and Drug Administration regulations allow 71 mgs of caffeine in soft drinks per 12 ounce can. However, as energy drinks are labeled as "dietary supplements", the FDA has imposed no limit whatsoever on the amount of caffeine they can contain.
The energy drink No Fear contains 174 mg of caffeine. Rockstar and Monster each contain 160 mg. of caffeine. What this means is that as few as two cans of each of these drinks containing more than 250 mgs of caffeine can result in a caffeine intoxication which, according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, can cause restlessness, nervousness, excitement, insomnia, flushing of the face, increased urination, stomach problems, twitching muscles, rambling speech and thought, irritability, irregular or rapid heartbeat, and agitation.
Bigger doses of caffeine can result in depression, mania, impaired judgment, hallucinations and psychosis. The British Journal of Addiction concluded that "caffeinism," although infrequently diagnosed, may afflict as many ten percent of the population.
There's not much detailed correlation between the use of high energy drinks and an increased risk of a car accident. But when reviewing the severe symptoms one may experience after consuming a high caffeine, high energy drink, it is clear that a huge risk of a major car accident exists.
The moderate use of caffeine has been shown have to have beneficial effects of keeping a tired driver awake and fully alert on the road. Large amounts of caffeine, however, can cause a driver to become restless, nervous, and irritable. Nervous and irritable drivers can become dangerous and aggressive drivers. Agitation, anger and loss of patience can lead to poor decision making which can be fatal on the road.
When these high energy drinks are used as a sleep substitute the largest problems may arise. Less sleep coupled with big doses of caffeine can raise levels of agitation. They can instead of raising a driver's alertness level, cause a driver to become disoriented. After nearly one hour after drinking a highly caffeinated and sugared drink, a sleep deprived person, according to the National Safety Commission report, can experience a lapse in concentration and tend to have slower reaction times.
The report indicates that the biggest road danger comes when the effects of the caffeine wear off. A sleep deprived driver will then won't be able to deal with the fatigue and can in short order fall asleep while driving. The report further indicates that It has been an accepted fact that drowsy drivers have an equally unacceptable low reaction time and impaired driving skills as a legally intoxicated driver. Long term use of these drinks can lead as well to a caffeine induced sleep disorder which interferes with the user's sleep patterns resulting in additional sleep deprivation.
Caffeine withdrawal can cause problem for individuals who ingest large amounts of caffeine on a regular basis. Withdrawal from caffeine can result in severe headaches and difficulty in concentrating. If you are trying to withdraw from caffeine, The National Safety Commission recommends that driving be avoided.
In sum, the use and or abuse of energy drinks can impair a driver's thought processes and reaction times when operating a motor vehicle. If you are using high energy drinks on a regular basis and driving, you are exposing yourself not only to the risk of a potentially deadly car accident but to very serious legal repercussions as well. If you are involved in a car accident and it is proven that your consumption of an energy drink was the proximate cause of the accident. you may be held legally responsible for all of an injured driver's resulting, foreseeable damages.
