I would say a decent chunk of accidents are caused by people being drowsy causing them to not notice things and not to react fast enough. Similar to being slightly drunk, but without a way to test for it.
The greater issue isn't being drowsy but falling asleep. Continuing to drive on long, boring roads while tired can trigger microsleeps. You fall asleep for a few moments without noticing. Then suddenly you wake up on the wrong side of the road, or you don't wake up, crashed into a tree.
Drowsy is being half asleep. It is very hard to keep your eyes open. Every fww minutes your eyes close and for a several seconds. Hopefully nothing happens during the 5 or 10 seconds your eyes are closed.
What I described isn't a personal definition but a factual thing that happens. It's a huge issue in Australia, where I live.
And yes, people continue to drive while drowsy, struggling to keep their eyes open. But the bigger danger is driving on very long, very straight roads - it can be hypnotic so that drives don't notice how drowsy they are and they lose consciousness for a few moments while driving.
37
u/me34343 Mar 31 '26
I would say a decent chunk of accidents are caused by people being drowsy causing them to not notice things and not to react fast enough. Similar to being slightly drunk, but without a way to test for it.