The Connection Between a Lack of Sleep and the Increased Risk of Being Involved in a Car Accident
Frightening Statistics on Traffic Accidents Caused By a Fatigue Related Error
A lack of sufficient sleep will kill you in many different ways. An obvious one is the lack of concentration in sleep deprived individuals getting behind the wheel of cars. The consequences are deadly. In the United States, every hour one person dies in a traffic accident due to a fatigue related error. A total of 1.2 million fatigue related accidents occur every year in the US alone. This exceeds the fatalities caused by alcohol and drugs, combined! The minority of these drowsy-driving accidents are caused by people completely falling asleep behind the wheel. However, this is unlikely to occur except if the individual has gone more than twenty hours without any sleep.
The Disastrous Consequences of Deadly Microsleeps
The majority of fatigue related accidents are caused by a momentary lapse in concentration also called a microsleep. These last only a few seconds, during which the eyelids will either partially or fully close. Microsleeps are usually suffered by individuals who are chronically sleep restricted. This means they regularly get less than seven hours of sleep a night. During a microsleep you will lose control over all motor actions for just a couple of seconds. Examples of such motor actions are those needed to operate the steering wheel or brake pedal. The consequences can be deadly. Getting enough sleep is crucial for improving and maintaining proper motor skill capabilities as seen on the page focused on The Benefits of Sleep.
The Less Sleep You Get the Higher the Risk of Being Involved in a Car Accident
Comprehensive research from 2016 indicates that the less hours you have slept the previous night the more likely the chances are of getting into a car accident. Furthermore, the mortality risk increases exponentially the less sleep you have obtained. For example, you have slept for between four and five hours the night before and you get behind the wheel of a car. As a result, your risk of being involved in a car crash increases by more than four times compared to having had a full night of sleep. Having slept for only four hours or less, you are 11.5 times more likely to be involved in a car crash.
The Deadly Combination of Alcohol & Sleep Deprivation
Research indicates that being sleep deprived while being legally drunk at the same time is a deadly combination. This will result in an extremely high risk of being involved in a deadly car accident. This is because both factors magnify each other. Unfortunately, people who drank too much alcohol are often also sleep deprived at the same time. Truck drivers in particular are 200 to 500 percent more likely to be involved in a traffic accident. This is because truck drivers are frequently suffering from severe sleep deprivation. Additionally, those accidents with trucks are often much more deadly as they will on average take 4.5 other lives with them.
Important Advice For Drowsy Drivers That Might One Day Save Your Life
People must realize that driving while feeling drowsy is lethal and can jeopardize your life. Additionally, this threatens the lives of people in the car with you and the lives of other road users. If you feel drowsy while driving it is recommended to stop for the night. If that is not an option, you should at least pull off the road and take a brief twenty-to-thirty-minute nap.
When you wake up from your nap wait for at least twenty more minutes until sleep inertia has worn off. Sleep inertia is a physiological state of impaired cognitive and sensory-motor performance that is present immediately after awakening. After waking up, individuals will experience feelings of drowsiness and disorientation, usually taking around 15 minutes. Once you feel inertia has worn off, only then should you consider driving again. It would be beneficial to drink a cup of coffee before getting back on the road.