Sleepy Americans – And the Link to Car Crashes

Research shows that sleep is an important biological need. Yet many Americans hardly get the amount of rest they need to function well. According to a report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 30 percent of the nation’s workers are sleep-deprived. More than 40 million people operate on six or fewer hours of sleep per night. The consequences of such fatigue can be dire, both when it comes to individual and public safety.

The National Highway Safety Administration estimates that more than 100,000 car accidents are caused each year by tired drivers. There is no reliable way to test for fatigue the way that police can do for drunk drivers, so determining whether lack of sleep caused the accident can be difficult. However, a study jointly conducted by NHTSA, the National Center on Sleep Disorders Research and the National Heart, Blood and Lung Institute of the National Institutes of Health, found that vehicle crashes caused by sleepiness share some common characteristics:

• The problem occurs during late night, early morning or midafternoon hours.
• The crash is likely to be serious.
• A single vehicle leaves the roadway.
• The crash occurs on a high-speed road.
• The driver does not attempt to avoid the accident.
• The driver is alone in the vehicle.

As the holiday season is now in full swing, it is likely that you will be more sleep deprived than usual. It is important to pay attention to your body’s signals of fatigue before getting behind the wheel of the car, and to make plans for adequate sleep. Pay attention to signs of drowsy driving, including:

•  Focusing problems
• Frequent blinking
• Heavy eyelids
• Wandering thoughts
• Headaches
• Difficulty remembering where you are on the road
• Drifting in and out of lanes
• Missing turns or exits
• Yawning

Also remember that prescription and over-the-counter medications can cause excessive drowsiness.  If you know that you’re operating on less sleep than you need, pull over and rest. Take frequent breaks. And most important, listen to your body when it tells you it’s tired. Car accidents caused by drowsy driving are preventable. It’s better to be safe than sorry.