A Wake-Up Call on Drowsy Driving

About 328,000 accidents and 6,400 fatalities in the U.S. per year involve drowsy drivers, according to a study by the Governors Highway Safety Assn. (GHSA) and State Farm Insurance.

The report, “Wake Up Call! Understanding Drowsy Driving and What States Can Do,” claims an average of 84 million Americans drive tired every day. Citing a 2015 AAA survey, GHSA notes that one-third of respondents said they drive while being drowsy on a monthly basis and that one in seven admit to having fallen asleep behind the wheel at least once.

GHSA claims that severe sleep deprivation can be as dangerous as drunk driving, reducing reaction times, attention and visual awareness while impairing judgement and increasing risk taking. The effects of going 21 hours without sleep are likened to that of having a blood alcohol level of 0.08%—the legal limit in most states—and going a full day without sleep is comparable to a 0.10% level.

To lessen the risk of drowsy driving, GHSA suggests teenagers get 8 to 10 hours of sleep per night and adults get 7 to 9 hours of sleep. Other driving recommendations include having at least one passenger in the vehicle, refraining from any alcohol prior to taking the wheel and avoiding times when people are most likely to be sleepy, such as early in the morning, mid-afternoon and late at night.

In addition, GHSA says, more research and outreach needs to be done to better understand the extent of the problem and to create greater public awareness about the issue. It commends programs in Iowa, New York and Utah for taking the lead in educating people about the dangers of drowsy driving.