One of the most reliable findings in psychopharmacological research is that peak velocities of saccadic eye movements are reduced after benzodiazepine administration. It is viewed as a biomarker of benzodiazepines’ sedative side effects. Even though this is a very established effect, past research has only examined this in horizontal saccades during standardised prosaccade tasks. The spectrum of saccadic eye movements however, is much larger. To make a first attempt at filling this research gap, 1mg lorazepam or placebo was administered (within-subjects, double-blind, in randomised order) to a sample of healthy adults. Participants then performed an extended version of the prosaccade task, including vertical saccade directions and different stimulus eccentricities, as well as a free viewing task. Results from the prosaccade task confirmed established effects of benzodiazepines as well as saccade directions on saccadic parameters but additionally showed that the benzodiazepine effect on peak velocity is independent of saccade direction. This further consolidates saccadic peak velocity’s status as a biomarker of sedation. Remarkably, in the free viewing task peak velocities as well as other saccade parameters were unaffected by benzodiazepine. Furthermore, exploration patterns in the free viewing task did not change after lorazepam administration. Overall, these results suggest that sedative effects of benzodiazepines may be compensated in tasks that more closely resemble natural eye movement behaviour, possibly via the additional involvement of neurophysiology related to voluntary saccades and the absence of time constraints.