Statistics from a French survey conducted in 2012 found that drowsy driving was nearly as deadly as drinking and driving. The study showed that both drunk and tired drivers were twice as likely to be the cause of a car accident when compared to sober and well-rested drivers.
The problem with drowsy driving is that exhaustion can impair your ability to concentrate on the road in front of you. Decision-making becomes more difficult, your judgment is more easily clouded, your tendency for risk taking increases and your reaction time slows down dramatically. These symptoms mirror those experienced by drunk drivers, demonstrating why both can be so dangerous.
Drowsy driving is responsible for an estimated 100,000 police-reported car accidents each and every year. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, these accidents lead to 71,000 injuries and nearly 800 deaths. Despite the incredible harm caused by sleepy driving, lawmakers appear nowhere near as interested in cracking down on exhausted drivers, instead devoting all their efforts at one subset of impaired motorists.
Source: “The Grim Stats Associated With Drowsy Driving,” by Sam Stein, published at HuffingtonPost.com.