Most Tennesseans have heard it all before: drowsy driving is dangerous driving. Despite these warnings, thousands of tired drivers hit the state’s roads each day — posing a threat to themselves and other drivers. While this issue is hardly a new one, there are recent studies that can help residents drive in a manner that is more alert — and, subsequently, in a way that is safer for everyone on the road.
The Governor’s Highway Safety Association sheds light on this nationwide problem, showing through a study that over 80 million exhausted Americans drive on the country’s roads every day. From that number, roughly 5,000 drivers died as a result. The GHSA considers the many ways states have made efforts to reduce this number of drowsy driving accidents, including those regarding legislative plans, education, engineering and enforcement. Some experts in law enforcement stress that officers should receive training to help them properly spot tired drivers on the road. Others pinpoint the source of the issue to sleep deprivation itself, stating that it is a critical element in safety practices.
CNBC also comments on the frightening number of drowsy drivers on the road, nodding to the American Automobile Association’s statistic that shows that 1 in 10 car accidents is caused by a tired driver. It appears that the federal government has also misgauged the seriousness of the issue, as the numbers of drowsy driving-related incidents are much higher than expected. In a similar vein as the aforementioned source, CNBC also raises the issue of sleep deprivation in America; 29 percent of those surveyed from the AAA admitted to getting behind the wheel while barely able to stay awake. There may not be a single solution to this major problem, but Tennesseans can help reduce the number of accidents on the road by becoming more alert drivers themselves.