Asleep at the Wheel: Waking Up
To the Risks of Drowsy Driving
February 5, 2008; Page D1

You’re driving down a highway on a pleasant afternoon. Traffic is light and the road is straight and your eyelids begin to droop. You yawn and open the window. You shift in your seat. You slap your cheek. Suddenly you are heading for an embankment at 60 mph with your eyes closed.

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That scenario is frighteningly common in a nation that burns the candle at both ends. Some 60% of Americans say they have driven while drowsy, and 37% admit to nodding off at the wheel, according to the National Sleep Foundation. Lack of sleep is a factor in one-fifth of motor-vehicle accidents and near accidents, studies conducted for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found. It’s also to blame in one-third of fatal truck accidents — equivalent to alcohol and drugs combined.

Even those numbers underestimate the problem, experts say. Unlike alcohol, sleep leaves no markers in a driver’s blood or breath. But there are telltale signs: Cars with a sleeping driver often drift out of their lane until they hit something and show no sign of braking.

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