Drowsy Driving Dangers [Infographic]

Drowsy driving can be much more dangerous and occurs more often than most people realize. Driving while drowsy can even become just as dangerous as driving while intoxicated.

Click on the infographic below to view a larger version.

Drowsy Driving Infographic

Everyone can be at risk of driving while drowsy. 60% of adult drivers actually admit to driving drowsy in the past year. 37% have actually fallen asleep at the wheel. The 18-29 year old age group is most likely to drive while drowsy and men are slightly more likely to drive while drowsy than women. Adults with children in the household are more likely to drive while drowsy.

Each year it is estimated that drowsy driving results in 1,550 deaths, 71,000 injuries, and $12.5 billion in monetary losses. And keep in mind that these figures are likely low since it is difficult to attribute crashes to sleepiness.

Sleeping only 6-7 hours makes it two times more likely to be in a crash and sleeping under 5 hours makes it 4-5 times more likely. Most crashes occur between 12 am - 2 am, 4 am - 6 am, and 2 pm - 4 pm.