Why Driving While Sleep Deprived is Dangerous
At Legacy Driving Academy, we pride ourselves on being one of the best driving schools in Phoenix, AZ. It is our purpose and mission to prepare everyone who comes through our doors to learn how to drive effectively and keep themselves and their passengers safe on the road. Through learning defensive driving strategies to identifying major distracting elements. Today, we discuss an issue that was touched on in one of our prior posts briefly, but merits some time of its own—drowsy driving!
What is Drowsy Driving?
Exactly as it sounds, drowsy driving is operating a motor vehicle when in a state of exhaustion due to sleep deprivation or having been up a long time.
- The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration attributed approximately 91,000 police-reported crashes in 2017 to driving while sleep deprived. According to the CDC
- 4% of Americans have reported falling asleep at the wheel, if even briefly, in the previous 30 days prior to polling.
For truck drivers, who spend their days and nights making long drives under tight schedules, this is not just a consideration but an occupational hazard that presents very real risk.
Anyone who operates a motor vehicle can be at risk for an accident if they drive while exceedingly tired or sleep-deprived.
Teens are Susceptible to Drowsy Driving
The CDC lists drowsy driving as one of the 8 danger zones for teen drivers. Whether you’re a teen reading this, or the parent of a teen who is ready to learn how to drive, you may recall the groggy, sleepy mornings of going to High School. It’s not just your imagination. Teenagers in the demographic of people who need the most sleep besides newborns. During puberty, the body goes through many changes, and this requires a great deal of food and energy, so if your teen simply wants to eat a whole pizza and go to sleep, there’s some science behind that!
However, despite needing somewhere between 8.5-9.5 hours of sleep a night, many teens scratch by on 6.5-7.5 hours of sleep. In most states, High School starts the earliest out of all primary schooling, with most teens being in school by 7:30-7:45, which would merit a wakeup time somewhere in the realm of 6am. It doesn’t help that during this time in a person’s life, their circadian rhythm is skewing heavily towards staying up late at night, making this schedule even more punishing throughout high school and college life where social demands are often at odds with school obligations.
Drowsy Driving Tips and Prevention
Needless to say, you should always avoid driving drowsy if you can. However, life is not always so convenient and there are times when we need to get home or get to our destination. An example might be when it comes time for your teen to go off to college, there may be many instances where they must make a long drive back home for a holiday weekend.
The most dangerous thing about driving while sleep deprived is that the driver is often unaware of when they are drifting to sleep. Driving can be a tranquil, relaxing experience, especially at night or on long stretches of highway. As a driving school in Phoenix, Arizona, this is something that we take into special consideration.
It is very easy to drive on “auto pilot” and drift into your thoughts in normal circumstances. When you are sleep-deprived or exhausted, this can quickly become dangerous when driving while sleep deprived as you can start to fall asleep.
- Yawning or excessive blinking
- Struggling to keep your eyes open
- Drifting in and out of your lane
- Losing track of your speed and unintentionally slowing down or speeding up excessively
These are all warning signs that you are experiencing fatigue and should switch drivers or pull over to rest if you are the sole passenger. Ultimately, getting enough sleep is the most important thing.
The next most important is understanding that sleep deprivation is not just a matter of will, but the lack of rest can and does impair your awareness, reaction time, and judgment or decision making. All of these are crucial for staying safe on the road.
Driving School Phoenix AZ
Legacy Driving Academy offers programs for drivers of all experience levels! Our comprehensive driver’s education courses will prepare the student for driving on the road and highway so that they can commute with confidence. We also service surrounding areas such as Tempe, Mesa, Chandler, Gilbert and Ahwatukee.
For more information on our programs contact us at (602)-396-8321 or email admin@legacydrivingacademy.com
We hope to hear from you soon!
