Drowsy driving has become a growing concern among drivers and lawmakers alike and is finally beginning to receive the kind of attention that drunk driving started to receive 30 years ago. Recent studies have shown that drowsy driving causes between 1,550 to 5,500 deaths and 40,000 to 71,000 injuries per year in the United States. Some drowsy drivers suffer from sleep disorders, while most are simply young people who stay up late or workers who have overnight shifts.

 

According to researchers, a driver who has been awake for 18 straight hours performs at the same level as someone who has a blood-alcohol concentration level of .08%—the legal standard for drunken driving. The National Sleep Foundation released a poll that concluded that 28% of drivers had fallen asleep while at the wheel.

 

-Jamie Mei Cheng, David Wallechinsky

 

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (AllGov)