The standard drunk driver is steadily being replaced by a new kind of impaired motorist: the Ambien driver.

According to recent studies in several states, the sleeping pill Ambien has a growing impact on traffic accidents.

According to www.MSNBC.com, parole officer Dwayne Cribb of Rock Hill, S.C., reported taking Ambien the night before Halloween last year, then waking up the next day in prison.

According to the police report, Cribb had left his house and gone for a drive, hit a parked van, then drove away and collided with a tree. Cribb claims to remember nothing of the event.

A spokesman for Sanofi-Aventis, the maker of Ambien, told the New York Times, “We are aware of the reports of people driving while sleepwalking, and those reports have been provided to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as part of our ongoing postmarketing evaluation about the safety of our products.”

Despite the bad press, Ambien is still posting record sales. Last year, over 26 million prescriptions were written for Ambien, according to a 2005 Prescription Audit buy IMS Health.

“It’s true that Ambien works very well when it’s used for what it’s designed for,” said Dr. Shanna Hurlock, a neuropsychologist from Peoria, Ill. “But the problem is that it’s not designed for long-term use. And in my experience, doctors usually fail to tell their patients this. ... Overall, I think Ambien is just a bad idea.”

Although no state currently tests for sleeping pills when making impaired-driving arrests, the Society of Forensic Toxicologists reports Ambien among the top 10 drugs found in impaired drivers.

“The bottom line is that Ambien needs a better warning label on its bottles, one that specifically labels the possible side effects,” Hurlock said.