A recent report released by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found that drowsy drivers, those drivers sleeping only five to six hours in a 24-hour period, are twice as likely to crash than drivers who slept seven hours or more.
The study released this week found that many of the risks drivers face when driving drunk were also present the less sleep a driver received.
Consequently, the less sleep a driver gets before getting behind the wheel, the higher his or her risk of crashing. Drivers who only got four or five hours of sleep were four times as likely to crash. That is very similar to the increase of crash risk when someone is driving under the influence.
According to the CDC, 32,000 people die yearly and two million are injured from motor vehicle crashes. The CDC has also found that thirty-five present of drivers in the U.S. sleep less than the recommended seven hours daily.
The report added that more than one in five fatal crashes involved drowsy drivers.
This information comes at a time many will hit the roads to visit family and friends over the holidays. Many who do so are often overtired from the busyness of the holidays. AAA offers some tips for a safer trip.
- Travel when normally awake.
- Schedule a break every two hours or every one hundred miles.
- Avoid heavy foods because they can increase drowsiness.
- Travel with an alert passenger and take turns driving.
- Avoid medications that cause drowsiness or other impairment.
If you have been injured in a serious accident, it is important to speak with an experienced personal injury attorney. Call today for your free, initial consultation.
