If you’ve gotten behind the wheel after being awake for 18 hours
or more, you’re putting yourself and everyone else on the road at
much the same risk as if your blood alcohol level were 0.08%—California’s
legal threshold for intoxication. Yet few of us think of driving when
we’re very tired as being as risky as doing so while under the influence.
That’s a mistake. Some 100,000 crashes a year are caused by fatigue,
says drowsydriving.org, an initiative of the National Sleep Foundation
(NSF). A survey by the NSF found that a shocking 37% of drivers said they’d
fallen asleep at the wheel in the past year. The risk for a car crash
caused by a fatigued driver peaks at night and in the mid-afternoon when
sleepiness is greatest, owing to the body’s circadian rhythms.
People under age 26, those with an untreated sleep disorder (like insomnia
or sleep apnea), those who work long hours and shift workers are particularly
at risk for drowsy driving.
FATIGUE RISK FACTORS:
-
Getting
SIX HOURS OF SLEEP or less (this triples your risk)
-
SUFFERING FROM sleep loss (insomnia), poor-quality sleep
- or sleep deprivation
-
Driving
LONG DISTANCES without proper rest breaks
-
DRIVING THROUGH THE NIGHT, mid-afternoon or when you
- would normally be asleep
-
Taking sedating
MEDICATIONS like antidepressants,
- cold tablets or antihistamines
-
Working
MORE THAN 60 HOURS a week (this increases your risk by 40%)
-
Drinking
any amount of
ALCOHOL
The Pledge Against Drowsy Driving is an initiative that seeks to raise
public awareness about drowsy driving, its effect on drivers and how it
can be avoided. For more information,
visit drowsydriving.org.