A study released this week by the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention may have the weary thinking about getting some
rest before they get behind the wheel. The study found that one
in 24 U.S. adults said they recently fell asleep while driving.
The National Highway Safety Administration estimates 2.5 percent
of fatal motor vehicle crashes (about 730 in 2009) and 2 percent
of all crashes with non-fatal injuries (about 30,000 in 2009)
involved drowsy driving, according to the CDC. “However,
although data collection methods make it challenging to estimate
the number of crashes that involve drowsy drivers, some modeling
studies have estimated that 15 to 33 percent of fatal crashes
might involve drowsy drivers,” the report stated. In the study,
about 4 percent of U.S. adults said they nodded off or fell
asleep at least once while driving in the previous month. The
study surveyed 147,000 people in 19 states by telephone in 2009
and 2010. Researchers found that drowsy driving was more common
among people ages