Have you ever been driving along and you suddenly nod off, waking up just in time to save yourself from rear-ending someone or landing in a ditch? If you have, you are not alone. According to Snooze Alert 100,000 police-reported crashes annually involve drowsiness. This consists of 1.5% of all crashes.
The Governor's Traffic Safety Committee says that drowsiness affects the ability to drive in a similar manner as driving under the influence of alcohol. There are equally harmful risks and consequences, such as slowed reaction time, decreased awareness, and impaired judgment. Even though police departments do not set up "alertness checkpoints" or charge sleepy drivers with DWD (driving while drowsy), you should still treat the issue seriously and take effective measures to avoid falling asleep at the wheel. .
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's report people are more likely to fall asleep while traveling on high-speed, long, boring, rural high-ways. However, there are certain types of drivers who are more susceptible to falling asleep at the wheel. All drivers who are sleep deprived or fatigued, those who drive long distances without rest, those people driving at night, taking medicines that increase drowsiness, drinking alcohol (even if it is not over the legal limit), as well as those people who are frequent travelers, because they tend to get too comfortable being in the car. .
Sleep related crashes are most common in young people, who tend to stay up late, sleep too little, and drive at night. Studies show that 55% of all fall-asleep crashes involved people twenty-five years of age or younger; 78% were males, says Snooze Alert.
The Governor's Traffic Safety Committee reports that twenty-five million Americans are rotating shift workers. Studies prove that 20-30% of these shift workers have sleep-related accidents within the last year. Truck drivers are also especially susceptible to fatigue-related crashes.