Online Auto Insurance: AAA Survey Reveals Prevalence of Drowsy Driving

Manhattan -- Free-Press-Release.com-- Nov 16, 2011 -- A new AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety survey that shows most motorists consider driving while drowsy a major safety concern—even though one-third confess to doing it anyway—makes clear just how easy it can be to let safe driving habits lapse, according to Online Auto Insurance (OAI).

Safety experts say getting behind the wheel while fighting off sleep is arguably as dangerous as operating a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or other drugs.

And even when it doesn’t lead to anyone getting hurt, driving while overly tired causes crashes, and that can mean paying more to insure your vehicle with a company that provides instant proof of auto insurance or other features.

But according to the foundation, many people choose to ignore their own views of driving when sleepy, as evidenced by the fact that more than 95 percent of respondents called the behavior unacceptable but 32 percent admitted driving while struggling to keep their eyes open at some point within the past month.

And a survey released last year by the nonprofit organization found that more than 4 in 10 drivers owned up to falling asleep in the driver’s seat at least once in their lifetimes.

Safety officials say sleepy drivers are a dangerous—but often overlooked—problem.

More than 100,000 crashes a year are attributable to drowsy driving, resulting in 40,000 injuries and more than 1,500 fatalities. And authorities say that the problem is more prevalent than people know because many incidents that lead to collisions go unreported.

Source: http://www.nhtsa.gov/Driving+Safety/Distracted+Driving/Research+on+Drowsy+Driving

The reason driving while battling fatigue is so dangerous, researchers say, is that tiredness slows reaction time on the part of motorists, reduces vigilance and makes it more difficult to process information quickly.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), motorists between the ages of 15 and 30 are most likely to drive while drowsy, along with night shift workers and those whose jobs force them to put in long or irregular hours, as well as motorists who have sleeping disorders that they have not been treated for.

To learn more about this and other safety and insurance issues, readers can go to http://www.onlineautoinsurance.com/proof/ where they will find informative resource pages and a helpful rate-comparison generator.

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Online Auto Insurance
Gregor McGavin
http://www.onlineautoinsurance.com/