You know that you shouldn’t get behind the wheel when you have had too much to drink or after taking prescription medication. You also know that it isn’t safe to type out an email while on the highway, so you turn your ringer off before you start your car. When you understand the risks that increase your chances of a crash, you can actively try to avoid those issues on the road.
Fatigue is a contributing factor to thousands of collisions every year, and it is a concern that many drivers just ignore.
People get behind the wheel when they are too tired to be safe
It is not an exaggeration to say that hundreds of thousands of drivers are on the road when they probably should not be. According to self-reported data provided by individual drivers, roughly one in 25 people has fallen asleep at the wheel in the last month. Some of those people may have fallen asleep while driving more than once in the last 30 days. Someone asleep at the wheel could easily cause a crash.
For every driver who falls asleep at the wheel, there are probably a handful of others who would have trouble being safe because of their fatigue or drowsiness. The impact of fatigue includes increased reaction times, difficulty making decisions and problems remaining focused.
If you choose not to get behind the wheel when you feel drowsy, your risk of causing a crash will go down. You can also watch out for signs of distracted, drunk and drowsy drivers on the road and give them plenty of space. Learning more about common motor vehicle collision causes can lead to safer driving practices.
