Monday, November 8 to Sunday, November 14, 2010 has been declared Drowsy Driving Prevention Week by the National Sleep Foundation who launched a public awareness program to educate people about driver fatigue and help to reduce the number of automobile and motorcycle accidents caused by sleepy drivers across the nation.
The National Sleep Foundation has called drivers in Louisiana and across America to action by becoming advocates for safer driving. The foundation has asked that drivers educate themselves about sleep deprivation, symptoms and signs of drowsiness and steps to take in order to prevent the 100,000 accidents reportedly caused by driver fatigue each year.
Advocates with the National Sleep Foundation instruct drivers across the nation to avoid driving when you know that you are tired or have taken a medication that may cause you to become drowsy. They also ask drivers to refrain from opening windows or turning up the radio as quick fixes instead of pulling over or switching drivers.
The foundation hopes that the conservatively estimated 1,550 wrongful deaths and 71,000 serious injuries caused by driver fatigue, as reported by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, could be prevented if people simply understand that driver fatigue reaction time is akin to that of an intoxicated driver and takes the necessary steps to ensure safe driving.
According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data, the problem takes a monetary toll on people across the nation each year amounting to approximately $12.5 in monetary damages suffered as a result of driver fatigue related crashes.
Source: DrowsyDriving.org “Drowsy Driving Prevention Resource Center” 11/8/10
