Others aren't so lucky. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that sleepy drivers cause at least 100,000 motor vehicle crashes each year. According to the National Center on Sleep Disorders Research, fall-asleep crashes are likely to be more serious, possibly due to high speeds and the driver's delayed reaction time. In 1996, the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety surveyed 101 members of the National Trooper Coalition for Traffic Safety and found that a drowsy driver is actually more dangerous than a drunk driver. A drowsy driver may never see the traffic light.
People find extra hours in the day by stealing hours from sleeping time.
Sleeping less then four hours a night impairs the ability to function at peak performance. Research that shift workers receive approximately 1.5 hours less sleep than a dayshift worker every day. The midnight to 8 a.m. shift, in fact, carries the greatest risks. Sleep is the only cure for sleep debt. If you answered yes to any of the questions, you may be a drowsy driver.