An article from End Distracted Driving (www.enddd.org) states that according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 4.2% of drivers reported falling asleep at the wheel within the last month.
According to Anne G. Wheaton, an epidemiologist and lead author of the CDC report, the actual number of drivers falling asleep at the wheel is higher than this survey taken in January leads on. “This percentage we reported is people that actually recognize that they had fallen asleep while driving,” she said.
The study does not take into account the people who did not even realize they fell asleep for a second or two. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that 2.5% of deadly crashes in 2009 involved drowsy driving. However, some studies conducted by the CDC estimate that the number is actually 15%-33%.
Those within the 25-34 year old age group of the study had the highest occurrence of drowsy driving. The study found that men reported higher incidents of falling asleep at the wheel than women did. Drowsy driving crashes are more likely to take place at night or during the midafternoon which involved a single vehicle going off the road with no sign of braking or other attempt to prevent the crash.
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