* "The National Highway Traffic Safety Addministration (NHTSA) estimates that sleepy drivers cause about 100,000 police-reported accidents each year in the U.S.; about 1500 of these are fatal accidents."
* Drivers under 25 years of age are the cause of approximately 55% of all accidents associated with falling asleep at the wheel.
* "Working more than one job, getting less than six hours of sleep, or driving in the wee hours increase the chance of nodding off behind the wheel, says the first study of what causes sleep-related crashes, which some experts believe account for 15% of all wrecks."
* Over 50% of the drivers interviewed said they felt only slightly or not at all drowsy right before the accident according to a report by the Journal of the American Medical Association.
* "Motorists risk injury and death not only from falling asleep while driving but also from loss of attention or slowing of reactions during critical driving tasks or maneuvers."
* According to a study of North Carolina drivers who had been involved in a sleep related accident last year, over 50% had slept less than six hours the previous night.
* Driving long distances, alone, during hours which your body is accustomed to resting poses the most danger for falling asleep at the wheel.
* The riskiest times to drive are between 1 and 6 am and 2 and 4 pm. These are the times when the body is less alert.
* 4 out of 10 Americans fail to get enough sleep.
2. Avoid driving between the hours of midnight and 6 A.M. This is when the body is normally drowsy. Stop and find a place to sleep and take a break during mid-afternoon.
3. Talk with someone in the car with you.
4. Take a break every 2 hours or 100 miles. Drink coffee, take a nap, exercise, and stretch during that break.
June 5, 1980 - June 2, 2000
October 12, 1993 - March 25, 2000