Driving is a safety-critical activity. People should try to avoid driving when they are not at full functional capabilities. Unfortunately, modern life often requires that people drive even in suboptimal scenarios.
Many people drive despite feeling sick because they have to get to work or care for their families. Others get behind the wheel when drowsiness could impact their capabilities. For some people, driving while feeling fatigued or exhausted is a daily occurrence.
Some professionals feel so tired in the morning that they can barely see straight, while others might feel drowsy during a commute home after a long day at work. Many people accept fatigue as the natural byproduct of a busy lifestyle. They may not understand that driving while tired could put them at substantially increased collision risk.
How can fatigue compromise the safety of people in traffic?
1. The risk of falling asleep
As many as one in 25 drivers admit to having fallen asleep at the wheel within the last 30 days at least once. Fatigue can lead to people experiencing microsleep, where they lose consciousness for a few seconds. Highway hypnosis can increase this risk. Falling asleep even briefly while in control of a motor vehicle can have devastating consequences.
2. Longer reaction times
People who are drowsy often struggle to respond rapidly to changing circumstances. They need a few seconds to mentally catch up to the situation. An increase in reaction time can be the difference between avoiding a collision and causing one. Drivers who are drowsy may not be able to avoid striking a vehicle that suddenly stops or an animal that runs out into the road.
3. Difficulty focusing
Staying alert and attentive is critical to safety and traffic. Drivers have to constantly scan their surroundings for changes and warning signs of danger. Those experiencing fatigue may struggle to remain focused on the task at hand. They may worsen their difficulty focusing by turning on the radio or engaging in other distractions in an attempt to keep themselves awake.
Drowsy or fatigued drivers cause thousands of collisions every year, many of which are preventable. Understanding how fatigue affects driving capabilities may allow people to limit their chances of causing car crashes and more effectively respond to crashes caused by other drivers, if and when they occur.