Drowsy driving, which can be just as dangerous as driving drunk, is on the rise across Colorado — and so are sleep-deprived crashes.
When drivers are tired, they’re less focused on the road and often find themselves weaving back and forth between lanes, unable to maintain the right speed and keep an appropriate distance from other vehicles, according to the National Sleep Foundation. They also may be unable to react in time to avoid an obstacle.
Fatal and serious-injury lane-violation crashes that investigators linked to driver fatigue or drivers falling asleep at the wheel have jumped 107% over the last four years, according to a news release from the Colorado State Patrol.
“Fatigue physically and mentally impacts the abilities of a driver — it has effects on a driver’s attention span, judgment, coordination and reaction time,” Colorado State Patrol Col. Matthew Packard said in the release.
According to the National Safety Council, driving after going more than 20 hours without sleep is the equivalent of driving with a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.08%, the U.S. legal limit.
“Some (drivers) may also experience micro-sleep — short, involuntary periods of inattention,” National Safety Council officials said. “In the 4 or 5 seconds a driver experiences micro-sleep, at highway speed, the vehicle will travel the length of a football field.”
And these crashes continue to multiply in Colorado. State patrol data shows drowsy lane-violation crashes jumped another 43.5% between 2023 and 2024.
Drowsy driving, on average, kills 6,400 people across the United States each year, the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety said. Roughly 71,000 more people are injured and the crashes cause around $12.5 million in damages.
According to a study from the National Sleep Foundation, 18-year-old to 24-year-old drivers are most impacted by these types of crashes.
That age group has a lower tolerance for sleep loss, their brains are still developing and they often work long or late hours, meaning they have fewer sleep opportunities in general, according to the study.
“We don’t often talk about fatigue and drowsiness, but sleep-related issues aren’t uncommon and there is an impact on a person’s ability to drive safely,” Packard said. “Shift workers and commercial drivers are at extreme risk, but anyone who struggles with getting enough and regular sleep can be impacted.”
If drivers notice signs of drowsiness, they should pull over and take a 20-minute nap in a safe place, Packard said.
Officials said the top signs of drowsy driving include:
- Heavy eyelids or frequent blinking;
- Frequent yawning;
- Daydreaming and trouble focusing;
- Drifting back and forth between lanes;
- Hitting a rumble strip;
- Drooping head;
- Poor recall of the last few miles;
- Missing signs or exits;
- And restlessness, irritability and aggressiveness, including tailgating.
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