The author of a Waka Kotahi study commissioned to get a better understanding of drug driving says people aren't aware of the risks posed by taking drugs - such as anti-depressants and strong painkillers - before driving.
More than half of people who drive after consuming drugs or medication didn't believe it impaired their driving. Photo: 123RF
Study author Amanda Dudding said 10 percent of those surveyed said they took anti-depressants within three hours of getting behind the wheel.
"Those tended to be students, unemployed people and also female," she added.
Nine percent consumed strong painkillers followed by cannabis which was the third most common drug consumed before driving, mostly by those younger than 45.
The study of 4500 people found almost a quarter of those surveyed drove within three hours of taking drugs or medication.
More than half of those who drove after consuming drugs or medication didn't believe it impaired their driving.
Driving under the influence of drugs or medication is one of the most common contributing factors to death and serious injury crashes in New Zealand.
Drivers had drugs in their systems in about a third of all fatal crashes.
In both 2019 and 2020 more than 100 people were killed in crashes where a driver was found to have drugs in their system.
Dudding said falling asleep at the wheel was one of the risks when driving after taking drugs or medication.