Under the influence: Which medicines affect driving most?

Researchers from the SABIEN group at the ITACA Institute of the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), in collaboration with several partner institutions, have developed a new tool to estimate the risk of using medicines while driving.

Lead researchers Vicente Traver and Salvador Borja

Image source: UPV 

The research, led by Vicente Traver and Salvador Borja and published in the scientific journal Therapeutic Advances in Drug Safety, introduces the FMB scale (Mobility and Risk Basis Factor) — a continuous, multifactorial model that enhances the traditional evaluation based on the DRUID system (Driving under the Influence of Drugs, Alcohol and Medicines), currently the most widely used reference in Europe. 

"Many medicines can cause drowsiness, dizziness or loss of concentration. However, information about these effects is often scattered and not always easy to interpret," explains Salvador Borja Ripoll, lead author of the study. 

Until now, the DRUID system has classified medicines into broad categories, but it presents limitations in terms of reproducibility, clinical applicability and its ability to discriminate between medicines with similar profiles. 

To address these limitations, researchers at ITACA have developed the FMB scale. This qualitative tool structures key variables related to driving, including adverse effects, their frequency, dosage, treatment phase, and pharmaceutical form. "The aim is to provide clearer and more useful information for both healthcare professionals and patients. Rather than assigning a single category, the scale combines different factors to generate a continuous index that more accurately reflects risk under real conditions of use," explains Vicente Traver, head of the SABIEN-ITACA group and co-author of the study. 

The results show that the scale reproduces the qualitative classification of the DRUID system, while offering greater resolution within each category. This makes it easier to identify relevant differences between medicines and improves assessment in situations close to risk thresholds. Specifically, the findings demonstrate that the scale not only mirrors the DRUID qualitative classification but also identifies significant differences between medicines within the same category and improves evaluation near the boundaries of risk. 

"This scale allows us to distinguish more precisely between medicines that, although they share the same category, do not have the same impact on driving. In addition, it transforms complex information into a clear and practical indicator, facilitating clinical decision-making and improving risk communication between healthcare professionals and patients," adds Vicente Traver, Professor of Electronic Technology and researcher in the SABIEN-ITACA group at UPV. 

Looking ahead, the tool could be integrated into mobile applications, electronic prescribing systems or pharmacy software, helping users make more informed decisions and further enhancing road safety. 

Researchers from SABIEN-ITACA UPV emphasise that this work represents a methodological advance in the assessment of pharmacological risk while driving, by incorporating a structured, transparent and reproducible approach that can contribute to improved clinical practice and to the development of evidence-based road safety strategies. 

The research team also wished to pay tribute to Ferran Mocholí, a researcher at the institute who passed away several years ago, whose vision and initial proposal were decisive in triggering the origins of this work. Ferran was a brilliant researcher with a strong commitment to science. Some of the research lines we continue to develop today stemmed from his ability to anticipate challenges and propose new solutions," they conclude. 

Source: Universitat Politècnica de València 

19.05.2026

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