Drowsy Driving

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Dangerous weekend for motorists on I-81 with drowsy and wrong-way driving

A 36-year-old Plymouth man was killed when the Toyota sedan he was driving, collided with a tractor-trailer near the Blackman Street exit of I-81 around 3:45 a.m. on Saturday. The driver of the Toyota was traveling in the wrong direction at a high rate of speed when the accident occurred.

Wrong way driving often results in deadly, high-speed collisions. ABC News reported that wrong way driver accidents are responsible for 1,100 deaths per year. The news organization reported that intoxicated drivers and those over age 80 make up a large percentage of wrong-way drivers and that most wrong way driving accidents occur at night or on the weekends. While cities and states need to work to improve signage on certain roadways, we must also stop drunk driving to help stop wrong-way driving accidents.

Another accident occurred on I-81 in Mahanoy Township late Saturday morning when a 59-year-old woman told police she fell asleep at the wheel, […]

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The Dangers of Driving Drowsy

Driving impaired doesn’t have to mean driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol. It can also mean driving while drowsy—a practice that leads to more than 100,000 crashes each year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Of this total, 40,000 injuries and 1,500 deaths are reported. In fact, a study showed that driving while being awake for 18 hours was the same as driving with a blood alcohol level of .05. Driving after being awake for 24 hours was equal to a blood alcohol level of .10—a level of .08 is legally drunk.

As with drunk driving, sleep-deprived driving also inhibits a person’s reaction time, judgment, and vision; causes problems with information processing and short-term memory; decreases awareness, and increases aggressiveness.

Unfortunately, in the commercial truck driving culture, getting behind the wheel, despite a lack of sleep, happens all too often as drivers push to make their deliveries on time, […]

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Triple Fatal Accident Serves as a Reminder to Pennsylvania Drivers of the Dangers of Drowsy Driving

An early morning accident on Saturday left three people dead and two others seriously injured after the driver apparently fell asleep behind the wheel.  The single-car crash occurred around 2:15 a.m. on I-81 north near Butler Township after the car traveled across the grass median and slammed into the concrete bridge support beam.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that drowsy driving accidents cause more than 100,000 crashes a year, resulting in 40,000 injuries and approximately 1,550 deaths.  However, the NHTSA believes these numbers are actually much higher due to underreported drowsy driving accidents.

One of the leading causes of drowsy driving is shift work.  With irregular hours, long shifts, and disrupted sleep patterns, the NHTSA reports shift workers run a particularly high risk of drowsy driving crashes.

However, anyone that is sleep deprived is a danger on the highway.  […]

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Pennsylvania Teen Drivers Urged to Stay Alert

The start of 2012 has seen far too many teens lose their lives in car accidents.  Just last week a local Pennsylvania teen died when his car skidded on ice and he crashed into a building, dying at the scene. Earlier this month, three teenagers traveling together went the wrong way on a MD road resulting in a crash that killed all three.  And in Virginia at the end of January, one teen died and three others were seriously injured when the teen driver crossed the center line striking another vehicle.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), car accidents are the number one killer of teenagers in the United States, claiming nearly 5,600 teenage lives each year. While the above accidents are all unique, the cause of each of the accidents may not have been that different.  The NHTSA has identified four primary causes for serious teen injury accidents:  inexperience and immaturity combined with speed, […]

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The Dangers of Drowsy Driving

Good Morning America did a report this morning on a Florida police officer that was fired after her onboard cam captured her veering all over the road, nearly clipping pedestrians and even hitting parked cars. Was the officer drunk behind the wheel? Nope, just tired.

You’d think that out of anyone on the road, a police offer could simply shake off the sleepiness and maintain control of the vehicle. You’d just have to open a window, or turn on the radio, right? Wrong! In fact, a survey conducted on drivers involved in sleep-related driving incidents showed the majority of drivers opened their windows and adjusted the radio, but still fell asleep behind the wheel.

Drowsy driving is impaired driving.

Turns out drowsy driving is dangerous, and a lot more widespread than previously thought. In that ABC report, 60% of us admit doing it, and 37% admit to actually having fallen asleep at the wheel! […]