Traffic accident lawyers know that sleep-driving injuries are just as serious as drunk-driving or distracted-driving injuries, but there is no widespread hype against sleep-driving. People don't take drowsy driving as seriously as drunk driving or distraction. [Sources: 9, 10]
Drowsy driving is common in people who get less than 6 hours of sleep; people with sleep apnea or other sleep disorders; young drivers; people who drink or take drugs; shift workers; and professional drivers. "Drowsy driving is dangerous because lack of sleep can have similar effects on the body as alcohol. Research shows that prolonged sleep deprivation can impair your ability to drive, just as drinking too much alcohol can. [Sources: 0, 1, 10]
Being awake for at least 18 hours corresponds to a blood content (BAC) of 0.05%. According to the National Sleep Foundation, 18 straight hours of sobriety driving a car is equivalent to a blood alcohol level of 0.05; 24 hours of sobriety is 0.10. According to the National Sleep Foundation, being 18 hours awake is like driving with a blood alcohol level of 0.05, and 0.08 is the legal limit. [Sources: 0, 9, 12]
If you don't get enough sleep, even short driving times can lead to driver fatigue. Lack of sleep can reduce your alertness and affect your coordination, judgment, and reaction time while driving. Even mild and short-term sleep deprivation can lead to impaired ability to drive a car. [Sources: 0, 1, 10]
In controlled studies in which researchers were able to measure sleep deprivation, drunk driving and drowsiness cause the same number of accidents. Many experts suggest that fatigued driving can have the same or similar harmful effects as alcohol. Fatigue driving affects your ability to concentrate, makes it difficult to make decisions, and can affect your ability to react. [Sources: 1, 10]
In Alberta in 2017, more than 200 drivers who were seriously injured or killed in car crashes were reported to be tired or asleep. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 1 in 25 adult drivers report falling asleep while driving in the past 30 days, and many more admit to driving while sleep deprived. According to a national survey conducted by Harvard Medical School's Department of Sleep Medicine and the National Sleep Foundation, 250,000 drivers in the U.S. fall asleep while driving every day, and 54 percent of adult drivers say they drive while driving during the year sleepy. 28% said they actually fell asleep at the wheel. According to the Washington Highway Traffic Safety Foundation, 21 percent of U.S. road traffic fatalities involve drivers who are drowsy, drowsy while driving, or asleep while driving. [Sources: 4, 5, 6, 14]
Sleep driving was responsible for at least 91,000 traffic accidents, 50,000 injuries and 795 deaths in 2017, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports. The National Transportation Safety Board said most of these were likely due to sleepy driving. half of the accidents resulting in the death of a truck driver. For every truck driver death, there are three to four more people. These crashes are usually caused by drivers with health problems who are distracted, drunk or asleep. [Sources: 1, 5, 12]
In Canada and the United States, poor driving is the most common cause of fatal road accidents. More than a million Americans have been arrested for drunk driving (DUI). Most Canadians would never consider driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. [Sources: 9, 13]
Thus, drivers getting behind the wheel should be aware that behavior that falls under the category of tired driving can lead to both criminal and civil liability. However, the impact of fatigued driving can lead to roadside activities that are punishable by law. According to European researchers who have studied the effect of fatigue on driving performance, prolonged night driving can be just as dangerous as drunk driving. A study done for the Australian Parliament found that driving after being awake for more than 17 hours was similar to driving with a blood alcohol content of 0.05 percent in terms of reaction time, alertness and judgment. [Sources: 3, 7, 10, 11]
While police can perform field sobriety tests with a breathalyzer if they suspect a driver is under the influence of alcohol, there is no established reliable method to easily identify and measure disability when drunk driving is involved. The driver may not even know when he is tired because the signs of fatigue are hard to spot. [Sources: 4, 13]
For this reason, drivers who drive on such days are more likely to feel sleepy. Long driving times, such as in the case of commercial vehicle or truck drivers who drive for extended periods every day, can also contribute to driving fatigue. Tired driving also occurs when drivers do not rest properly or take breaks while driving for an extended period of time. Fatigue driving is when a driver experiences mental and physical impairment after long periods of continuous driving. [Sources: 7, 10]
According to the Road Traffic Accident Research Foundation, fatigue or tiredness behind the wheel is responsible for approximately 25% of all deaths or injuries. Drinking alcohol can also be a contributing factor to driving fatigue. If a driver is showing symptoms of fatigued driving and is unable to stop, this could be another example of how a driver may be reckless in the event of fatigued driving. If you experience any of these signs, consider taking a break, changing drivers, or getting some sleep before driving. [Sources: 7, 10]
The Foundation reports that more than 60% of drivers got behind the wheel feeling sleepy, and 1/3 of them admitted to falling asleep. A report released late last year by the AAA Highway Safety Foundation found that between 8.8% and 9.5% of all crashes are related to driver drowsiness. [Sources: 3, 12]
Falling asleep while driving is very dangerous, but drowsiness affects your ability to drive safely even if you don't fall asleep. Sleepless driving (commonly known as fatigued driving, sleepy driving, or fatigued driving) is the functioning of a car when its cognitive functions are impaired due to lack of sleep. A sleep specialist from Calgary says that driving while drowsy can be just as dangerous as driving while intoxicated. Tired of “studying these results and confirming that sleep deprivation may be more dangerous than driving with a BAC above the legal limit. [Sources: 0, 5, 8]
Despite the similarities between the effects of sleep deprivation and alcohol on driving performance, another MacLeans lab study (which I participated in, published in the Journal of Safety Research) found that young drivers find sleep driving quite normal and "understandable." while they considered drunk driving to be decidedly wrong. Although they are not identical, sleepy driving and drunk driving share some similarities and are considered equally dangerous. Both types of violations prevent drivers from focusing on driving and negatively affect the speed and accuracy of the driver's decision-making skills. [Sources: 1, 6, 10]
##### Sources #####
[0]: https://www.cdc.gov/sleep/about_sleep/drowsy_driving.html
[1]: https://www.sleepfoundation.org/drowsy-driving/drowsy-driving-vs-drunk-driving [2]: https://westernfinancialgroup.ca/Driving-tired-The-equivalent-of-dangerous-and-reckless-driving
[3]: https://www.thedrive.com/news/27817/driving-drowsy-is-as-dangerous-as-driving-drunk-study-finds
[4]: https://www.nsc.org/road-safety/safety-topics/fatigued-driving
[5]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep-deprived_driving
[6]: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health-and-fitness/health-advisor/its-time-to-wake-up-about-the-dangers-of-drowsy-driving/article22331948/
[7]: https://www.preszlerlaw.com/blog/dangers-tired-driving-ontario/
[8]: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/drowsy-driving-as-dangerous-as-drunk-driving-sleep-expert-says-1.2715337
[9]: https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=95086e14-e055-47f6-bd77-5fdd26d111b1
[10]: https://www.thinkinsure.ca/insurance-help-centre/falling-asleep-and-drowsy-driving-laws.html
[11]: https://www.wired.com/2011/01/study-driving-tired-is-like-driving-drunk/ [12]: https://www.13wmaz.com/article/news/verify-is-drowsy-driving-as-dangerous-as-drunk-driving/93-700dc1d5-bf89-4ab8-b949-1404b7061619
[13]: https://www.sleepdr.com/the-sleep-blog/drowsy-driving-vs-drunk-driving-vs-high-driving/
[14]: https://www.alberta.ca/fatigue-and-driving.aspx