The National Sleep Foundation’s Drowsy Driving Prevention Week® encourages everyone to prioritize sleep and drive when they are alert and refreshed. Our goal is to help people get the sleep they need and reduce the number of drivers who choose to drive while sleep-deprived.
Together, we can help people drive alert and work to prevent thousands of motor vehicle crashes each year.
Fall-asleep crashes are often caused by not getting the sleep you need
Drowsy driving is more likely to cause a crash.
Just like drunk, drugged, and distracted driving, drowsy driving is a real public health issue, causing thousands of car crashes each year and killing an estimated 6,400 people in the U.S. alone according to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports an estimated 100,000 crashes each year are caused primarily by drowsy driving, resulting in more than 71,000 injuries and $12.5 million in damages.
Drowsy driving is really risky.
When you drive without adequate sleep, your motor skills are seriously impaired. In fact, we’ll go as far as saying that drivers who’ve only slept 3 to 5 hours in the last 24 hours are unfit to drive. Most people understand it’s risky, but they don’t think about the consequences.
Drowsy driving is dangerously common.
Young drivers (aged 16-25 years) and shift workers are at greatest risk of falling asleep behind the wheel, but most drivers can relate to a time when they have nodded off while driving. Importantly, drowsy driving is preventable.
Source: thensf.org/
