Drivers Who Fall Asleep Behind the Wheel
Posted Sunday, August 20, 2017 by Chris Thayer
A nurse who lives in Cincinnati, Ohio, told National Public Radio about the time she fell asleep behind the wheel. She had just gotten off her overtime shift and remembers feeling tired, but it was only a few miles home so she decided to push through. The next thing she knew, she had drifted across the double line and struck another vehicle head-on. Luckily both drivers only sustained minor injuries.
About one in five fatal car accidents in the United States involve drowsy drivers. The less sleep a person gets in a 24-hour period, the higher the accident risk. According to an American Automobile Association (AAA) study, people who only get five or six hours of sleep are twice as likely to crash as people who get seven or more hours of sleep.
Here are more drowsy driving facts from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
- Up to 6,000 fatal car accidents every year are caused by drowsy drivers.
- One study found that one in 25 adult drivers admitted to falling asleep behind the wheel within the previous 30 days.
- There is a high likelihood that commercial truck drivers and people who work the night shift will drive drowsy.
- Drowsy driving warning signs include drifting out of your lane, not remembering the last few miles that you drove, missing your exit, hitting the rumble strip on the side of the road and yawning.
- Drowsy driving is dangerous because, like impaired driving, it slows reaction times and affects decision making.
The CDC recommends that drivers get at least seven hours of sleep and avoid taking medications or drinking alcohol that makes them sleepy. Additionally, people who suffer from sleep disorders that might make them fall asleep behind the wheel should talk to their doctors about treatment options.
*Drowsy Driving Incidents*In July 2017, a semi-truck driver crashed on Interstate-5 in Tacoma, blocking all lanes of northbound traffic for several hours. He admitted to feeling drowsy when he swerved to avoid another vehicle, hitting the Jersey barriers and overturning. The driver sustained bumps and bruises, but fortunately no one else was hurt.
In May 2017, a 23-year-old semi-truck driver fell asleep behind the wheel near the Interstate 82-U.S. Highway 12 interchange in Yakima. His vehicle went off the road, and the driver overcorrected, striking a pickup truck. They both crashed into the guardrail. Luckily, neither driver was injured in the accident.
In November 2016, eight people were injured when a driver fell asleep just south of Montesano and crashed into a tree. There were two adults and six children (ranging in age from 11 months to 12 years old) in the vehicle, and they all had to be taken to the hospital. The 28-year-old driver was charged with negligent driving in the second degree.
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