Rhode Island driving lesson · Distraction, Drowsiness & Emotions
Drowsy Driving: Risks & Warning Signs
A 3-minute lesson from the Rhode Island course. Read the rules and examples, follow the handbook page references, and check your understanding before you move on.
Being tired impairs you much like alcohol does. You see less, react later and misjudge speed and distance. Worse, you may fall asleep with no warning at all. Know who is most at risk and the signs your body gives.
Drowsy driving by the numbers:
NHTSA (2020): about 100,000 police-reported crashes a year result directly from drowsy driving
Those crashes cause an estimated 800 deaths and 50,000 injuries
60 percent of adult drivers say they drove while drowsy in the past year
1 in 25 drivers admit falling asleep while driving
More than one in five fatal collisions involve a drowsy driver
Drivers under 30 are involved in over two-thirds of all fall-asleep crashes and are four times more likely to have a sleep-related crash than drivers 30 and older.
Working the night shift increases collision risk by nearly six times. Rotating-shift workers and people working more than 60 hours a week must be especially careful.
You worked a closing shift, then drove friends around; you've now been awake 20 hours. You're impaired about as much as a .05 BAC. Hand the keys to a rested driver instead of 'toughing it out'.
Check your understanding
Read the question, decide on an answer, then open it to check the explanation. These are Roadwise study questions based on the source handbook.
About how many police-reported crashes each year does NHTSA estimate result directly from drowsy driving?
100,000
10,000
500,000
50,000
Answer: 100,000
NHTSA estimates about 100,000 police-reported crashes each year are a direct result of drowsy driving.