Drowsy Driving: Why Sleep is Important

Lying in bed late at night, counting sheep isn’t fun for anyone. You’re probably like us here at Alpine Insurance and Financial and would prefer to have your head hit the pillow and be out for the count. But it doesn’t always work like that, which can result in some rough mornings.

Unfortunately, your day can be worse than just waking up with a headache or feeling groggy; sleepiness can lead to auto accidents. Car accidents that are caused by drowsy driving tend to fit a certain profile. These are the characteristics:

• Late night/early morning or midafternoon accidents
• Usually single occupant, single vehicle
• The driver makes no attempt to avoid collision
• Most likely to occur on high speed roads, like highways and freeways

Getting enough sleep at night is important for a lot of reasons. A lack of sleep can impair both your judgment and driving performance. Inadequate sleep can lead to increased reaction times, inattention and a decreased ability to process information. Even just one to two hours less sleep than is recommended can have devastating effects on your driving habits.

So how can you reduce your risk for a drowsy driving related crash? Here are three countermeasures:

1. When you are already tired, do not even drink a small amount of alcohol before driving (you really shouldn’t be drinking and driving at all)
2. Limit driving between the hours of midnight and 6 a.m.
3. PLAN to get sufficient sleep

It can be hard sticking to a sleep schedule; sometimes your body just doesn’t want to cooperate. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t at least try. So let’s spread the word about getting enough sleep at night and try to make our roads a safer place!

Source – Drowsy Driving and Automobile Crashes

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