Tired drivers as unsafe as drunk drivers

A new study has been released from a leading university in the Netherlands that shows being tired behind the wheel is as hazardous as drunk driving.

The study monitored motorists who were behind the wheel for two, four, and eight consecutive hours. The individuals aged 21 to 25 were told to maintain a constant speed of 80mph in the center lane of a highway. The study was videotaped and all driver deviations from the center lane were recorded by the researchers. Results showed that even as little as two consecutive hours of driving at night causes a motorist to make the same mistakes as an individual who had been drinking.

After two hours, the motorists were driving similarly to a person with a blood alcohol level of 0.05. More alarmingly, after three hours, the individuals’ impairment was equivalent to a driver with a blood alcohol level of 0.08 – the legal limit in the state of Georgia. After four-and-a-half hours, their performance on the road was the equivalent to an individual with a 0.10 blood alcohol level.

The study, published in the Journal of Sleep Research, is hoping to call attention to the danger of tired drivers. Researchers also noted that the greatest danger is that drivers often do not realize their level of sleepiness and how that diminishes their alertness and impairs their ability to react behind the wheel.

While media attention has focused on the problem of drunk driving, fatigued driver-related accidents have slowly and quietly grown in number, and it is extremely difficult to monitor driver fatigue.  Many of the big automakers are beginning to unveil cars with built-in alarms that alert drivers when the vehicle begins to veer out of its lane or if obstacles are approaching. The automobile industry is looking to include fatigue fighting features to come standard in all vehicles, just like airbags and seatbelts. However, the greatest remedy to reduce fatigue-related accidents still remains much-needed rest.

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