According to a recent National Sleep Foundation poll, nearly 30 percent of American drivers have admitted to falling asleep at the wheel, and more than half revealed they have driven while drowsy. Close to 100,000 crashes a year and 1500 deaths are attributed to drowsy driving. Bottom line, drowsy driving is impaired driving.

National Drowsy Driving Prevention Week is November 7-13, and here are eight warning signs that you are driving drowsy and should pull over to rest:
1. Yawning repeatedly or rubbing your eyes
2. Finding it hard to focus on the road, frequent blinking, or heavy eyelids
3. Starting to daydream or have disconnected thoughts
4. Having trouble remembering the last few miles driven
5. Missing an exit or ignoring traffic signs
6. Drifting from your lane, tailgating or hitting a shoulder rumble
7. Feeling restless or irritable
8. Finding it hard to keep your head up or nodding off

Some groups of drivers are at greater risk for drowsy driving crashes, and a few of these groups are specifically work-related and should be taken into account when thinking about workplace safety:
• Shift workers (working night shift can increase your risk of drowsy driving by nearly six times)
• People who work long hours consistently
• Commercial drivers, especially long-haul drivers (15%+ of all heavy truck crashes are due to drowsy driving)
• Business travelers (long hours driving or possible jet lag)

Drowsy driving can slow down your reaction time, decrease awareness, impair judgment and definitely increase your risk of crashing.

Did you know around 40% of deaths in the workplace occur in transportation incidents making motor vehicle accidents overwhelmingly the leading cause of workplace deaths? Millions of workers drive or ride in a vehicle as part of their jobs, and all workers are at a risk of crashes, whether they drive light or heavy vehicles, or whether driving is their main duty or incidental job duty. From 2003-2018, more than 29,000 workers in the United Stated died in a work-related motor vehicle crash.

With so many people behind the wheel, drowsy driving, or driving while you are tired, only exacerbates this situation. It is estimated 6% of all crashes and 21% of all fatal crashes involve a fatigued driver. The first week in November is considered Drowsy Driving Prevention Week, but it’s something we all need to be preventing every single day we are on the road.

According to the National Sleep Foundation, the following factors contribute to drowsy driving:
• Driving on less than 7 hours of sleep
• Driving at a time when usually sleeping
• Travelling frequently through different time zones
• Having an untreated sleep disorder, such as obstructive sleep apnea
• Working multiple shifts or night shifts

Drowsy driving is similar to driving under the influence of alcohol. The driver’s reaction times, awareness of hazards and the ability to keep attention worsens when the driver is fatigued. Driving while going more than 20 hours without sleep is the equivalent of driving with a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.08%, which is the U.S. legal limit. If you drive while fatigued, you are 3x more likely to be in a car crash.

Employers can take steps to help keep their employees safe by implementing strong safety and health programs, including setting up a fatigue risk management system (FRMS). The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has relevant information listing ways employers and employees can prevent driver fatigue. Take the steps today to keep your employees safe and healthy.

The percentage of crashes involving drowsiness is nearly eight times higher than federal estimates indicate, according to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. The travel organization is promoting the reuslts of a recent study as the most in-depth drowsy driving research ever conducted in the U.S. using footage of everyday drivers.

Read entire article - http://newsroom.aaa.com/2018/02/drowsy-driving-dont-asleep-wheel/