Drowsy Driving a Common Danger for Motorists

One of the leading dangers facing many drivers is the possibility that they will fall asleep behind the wheel and go off the road or cause a major accident with another vehicle.

With that in mind, the National Sleep Foundation is using the coming holiday season to alert people to the dangers of drowsy driving. The foundation, in conjunction with Mercedes-Benz, has released a poll showing that as many as 1.9 million drivers have crashed or had a near miss because of drowsy driving.

According to the survey, 54 percent of drivers have been behind the wheel while drowsy at least once in the past year, while 28 percent say they do so at least once per month.

"Drivers think they can stay awake by sheer force of will and often underestimate their state of tiredness," said National Sleep Foundation Chairman Thomas Balkin.

For its part, Mercedes-Benz indicated that it has been working on technology that could alert drivers as they start to show the earliest signs of falling asleep behind the wheel. By tackling this serious problem, public safety as well as auto insurance rates could stand to benefit in the coming years.

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