Study: 20% Of Crashes Caused By Sleepy Drivers
A study released on Monday says that drowsy driving is responsible for one in every five crashes and that it killed almost 5,000 people last year.
Study Points Out Widespread Dangers Of Drowsy Driving
The study conducted by the Governors Highway Safety Association and funded by State Farm Insurance is called “”Wake Up Call! Understanding Drowsy Driving and What States Can Do About It.” Here are some of the key findings from the study:
- 83.6 million sleep deprived drivers get behind the wheel every day.
- Almost one third of all drivers admitted to having trouble keeping their eyes open behind the wheel in the past month.
- Drowsy driving is said to be responsible for an average of 328,000 crashes per year.
- 21 hours without sleep mimics a 0.08 blood alcohol concentration.
- Teens and young adults are responsible for over half of drowsy driving crashes each year.
- The annual estimated cost of drowsy driving crashes is $109 billion in the U.S.
The study also suggests that the impact of drowsy driving could be even higher than estimated because law enforcement has no protocol in place to determine whether a non-commercial driver is fatigued.
If you’d like to access the full report, click here.