SF News:Daylight Savings is this week/weekend and it is time to hit the alarm button.
In a recent first of its kind report, State Farm® and the Governor’s Highway Safety Association found drowsy driving annually has a $109 Billion cost to society in related fatal and injury crashes.
Wake Up Call! Understanding Drowsy Driving and What States Can Do, points out that nearly 83.6 million sleep-deprived Americans are driving every day. And it’s taking a toll – an estimated 5,000 lives were lost in drowsy driving-related crashes last year.
What can drivers do about this? I’m sure Dr. John has some great tips here!
- Prioritize sleep – like eating well and exercising regularly, sleep is restorative and a life-sustaining activity
- During especially long trips experts recommend stopping every two hours to rest.
- Don’t count on a caffeine boost to keep you alert, it takes on average 30 minutes for it to kick in
- Know the limit – learn how to recognize the signs of drowsiness
- Frequent yawning
- Daydreaming often and unconnected thoughts
- Unable to keep your eyes open or your head up
- When to pull over and nap or turn the driving over to someone else
- Nodding off
- Not remembering the last few miles you drove
- Driving onto the shoulder
- Ending up too close to cars in front of you
The report was funded through a grant from State Farm with guidance from an expert panel.