NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Driving while battling the urge to fall asleep is a familiar feeling for many. However, soon-to-be-published research from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety reveals the shocking lethality of drowsy driving.
"It's not just a daylight saving time issue," said Shawn Steward with AAA Kansas. "We do highlight it when the time change happens, because that typically does throw people off for a while in terms of their sleep patterns."
In its most recent Traffic Safety Culture Index, the AAA Foundation noted drivers predominately perceive drowsy driving to be dangerous (95%), however 18% of drivers admit to having engaged in the behavior in the past 30 days.
"The numbers are actually far higher than official government statistics," Steward said. "We analyzed the data in different ways and found that 18% of all traffic fatalities over a five year period from 2017 to 2021 were estimated to involve a drowsy driver."
The Foundation says that drowsy driving is a factor in roughly ten times as many traffic fatalities as traditional crash data indicates.
"One of the symptoms that we cite of drowsy driving is that you just, you may not remember a portion of your drive," Steward said. "You know you got there, but you just can't recall passing that landmark or going through that intersection that you know you did. That's definitely a symptom of drowsy driving."
Get enough sleep before driving. Aim for at least seven hours of sleep per night.
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