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Reports in the news these days tell a scary story: The United States is filled with busy, productive and very sleep-deprived people. According to the Centers for Disease Control, almost half of all Americans do not get enough sleep for more than a week every month. Even worse, about 10 percent of people do not get enough sleep any night.
The pressures of today’s society do not make it any easier. Blackberrys are buzzing on many nightstands. Web-surfing and high-definition TV have people staying up late, and long commutes have them getting up early. Economic worries have people counting sheep, too—about a quarter of Americans are losing sleep over financial worries, according to the National Sleep Foundation.
All of these statistics add up to a tired society…and lots of drowsy drivers. While it is hard to fault people for working long hours or cutting back on sleep to get more done, the impact of sleepy, less-than-fully alert drivers is dramatic: Drowsy driving contributes to more than 100,000 crashes and $12.5 billion in losses each year.
Drowsy driving is so dangerous that police officers report that they often mistake sleep-deprived drivers for drunk drivers. In fact, studies show that drowsiness impairs drivers to a degree equal to having a blood-alcohol content of 0.10 percent, a level higher than the legal limit for driving while intoxicated in every state.
As the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety reports, though, drivers can use several strategies to defeat drowsy driving:
- Get more sleep. The simple truth is, most people need between seven and nine hours of sleep at night to be fully rested. If you are drowsy, pull over to a safe spot and nap. Taking a 20-minute nap can be sufficient to refresh a driver enough to continue safely for a short distance. Do not sleep longer than that, though, or you will awaken groggy and less alert than before.
- Avoid alcohol and medications that make you drowsy. Alcohol and driving never mix. Aside from impairing you, alcohol is a depressant that makes you drowsy. Some medications can act this way, too
- Do not rely on caffeine, stimulants or “urban myths.” Caffeine and stimulants may give you a brief jolt, but your energy level may drop fast. As for the other popular strategies to beat fatigue—such as keeping the car windows open or blasting the radio—chalk them up to urban myths. Studies show that they have little or no effect on drowsiness.
• As a passenger, watch for signs of drowsiness in drivers. If you are in the car with someone who is yawning repeatedly, dropping his head every few seconds, drifting out of the lane, or acting a little incoherent, ask him to pull over and rest.
- Yawning repeatedly
- Head feeling heavy or sagging onto chest
- Trouble keeping your eyes open
- Losing track of where you are
- Slow reactions/missing traffic signs and signals
- Drifting out of lane or onto rumble strips
For tips about ways you can make your trips safer, visit the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety at AAAFoundation.org.