Drowsy Checkpoints?

[aGameOfThrones]

We all know that driving while texting or under the influence of drugs or alcohol is extremely dangerous, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention just released a survey taken back in 2009 and 2010 by the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) showing just how lethal drowsy driving can be. According to the survey, drowsy driving accounted for almost 730 fatal crashes and around 30,000 non-fatal crashes in 2009, and it shows that 4.2 percent of more than 147,000 respondents had fallen asleep behind the wheel at least once in a 30-day period before the survey was taken.

As frightening as that is, the survey was limited to just 19 states and the District of Columbia and did not include teen drivers under the age of 18, which means the number could be even higher. Back in November, we reported on a survey conducted by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety that indicated one in seven (around 14 percent) drivers between the ages of 16 and 24 admitted to falling asleep while driving compared to the overall average of 10 percent admitting to dozing off behind the wheel. The BRFSS survey showed that Oregon had the lowest percentage of drowsy drivers (2.5 percent) while Texas had the highest number (6.1 percent). The CDC points out that two major contributing factors to drowsy driving are snoring and getting less than six hours of sleep per day – both are symptoms of sleep apnea.

http://www.autoblog.com/2013/01/09/cdc-releases-results-of-largest-survey-ever-on-drowsy-driving/

[Brian4Liberty]

Driving while tired is probably the single most dangerous driving practice there is.

[PaulConventionWV]

Driving while tired is probably the single most dangerous driving practice there is.

I can attest to that. I do it regularly (thankfully I'm quitting my job soon). It happens without your awareness of it. One time I was coming back to my place of work in a company car and realized I was getting a little sleepy but thought I could manage it because I was almost back to the office. Before I knew it, however, the right side of my car was in the drainage ditch, the bottom of the vehicle scraping the side of the road. I quickly took control and jumped the car back onto the road (the right side of the car was about a foot lower than the other side) and proceeded as if nothing had happened. If you drive drowsy, you're setting yourself up. There are many times when I've had the rumble strips wake me up on the highway, and I know there are plenty of ways that could turn deadly in an instant before you have a chance to react.

That said, I wonder what these checkpoints are going to be like? A government-run hotel where attendance is involuntary?

[Schifference]

Am I more likely to be killed by a tired driver or a lunatic with a gun?

[tod evans]

Am I more likely to be killed by a tired driver or a lunatic with a gun?

Depends on location, I'm betting guns win out in urban environments and drivers in rural...

[Voluntary Man]

Driving While Insomniac


A government-run hotel where attendance is involuntary?

They already have those.

[jkr]

ban sleeping

[NCGOPer_for_Paul]

Part of the problem with this so called "drowsy driving" is the fact that people's days are starting earlier and earlier and ending later and later, and much of that is because of government, as well as the ability to be logged into work 24/7.

Maybe if people didn't have to get on the road before the sun comes up to get to work, and if school buses weren't running before 6:30 AM, much of this "drowsy driving" bullshit would go away. People's bodies are not made to be waking up in the middle of the night (4-5 AM).

[JK/SEA]

sleep apnea eh?...yeah, i have that, Just got approved by the insurance to get a C-PAP machine. Took about 6 weeks. Gotta jump through a lot of hoops to get that machine, but it works for me very well.

[jmdrake]

This of course shows why "checkpoints" are stupid. If you're drowsy to the point where you shouldn't be driving, you will weave and the police will have probable cause to pull you over. That happened to me multiple times as a young man. Once the cop figured out I wasn't drunk or high he'd tell me to just "be safe" and head on home. I did get a ticket once for wreckless driving, but I fought it and won. And yeah, that was pre law school. ;) (I argued the road was foggy that night and it was. The officer tried to claim that it wasn't).

[NCGOPer_for_Paul]

This of course shows why "checkpoints" are stupid. If you're drowsy to the point where you shouldn't be driving, you will weave and the police will have probable cause to pull you over. That happened to me multiple times as a young man. Once the cop figured out I wasn't drunk or high he'd tell me to just "be safe" and head on home. I did get a ticket once for wreckless driving, but I fought it and won. And yeah, that was pre law school. ;) (I argued the road was foggy that night and it was. The officer tried to claim that it wasn't).

In North Carolina, you can get a DWI charge if the cop thinks you are "drowsy". More idiotic laws coming down from our state capital.

[PaulConventionWV]

Driving While Insomniac



They already have those.

Well, I mean a special place at the checkpoint. I doubt they would take them to jail for that. Jail isn't exactly a great place to sleep, so unless the police are going to chauffeur them, I doubt it would be an effective remedy for driving while tired.

[MoneyWhereMyMouthIs2]

We all know that driving while texting or under the influence of drugs or alcohol is extremely dangerous...


I wish no one would ever start a sentence that way. We don't all know that, nor has anyone proven it.

And if you're too drowsy to drive, maybe take some speed? I remember a mix of ephedrine and coffee used to work quite well, before they halted sale of ephedrine due to "heart attacks" or whatever.

[MoneyWhereMyMouthIs2]

Well, I mean a special place at the checkpoint. I doubt they would take them to jail for that. Jail isn't exactly a great place to sleep, so unless the police are going to chauffeur them, I doubt it would be an effective remedy for driving while tired.


They want your money. They're not in the least bit interested that you get a good night's sleep. Are you sleeping on the computer again? lol

[jmdrake]

In North Carolina, you can get a DWI charge if the cop thinks you are "drowsy". More idiotic laws coming down from our state capital.

WTF?

[phill4paul]

In North Carolina, you can get a DWI charge if the cop thinks you are "drowsy". More idiotic laws coming down from our state capital.

Haven't heard about this one and a quick google did not find me any results. Do you have a link?

[BAllen]

In North Carolina, you can get a DWI charge if the cop thinks you are "drowsy". More idiotic laws coming down from our state capital.

I haven't heard that one, either. Some years ago, I was pulled on 77 for weaving. They called the breathalyzer vehicle in, and I blew a 0, so they told me to be careful and let me go. BTW, I'm working down that way, where are the speed traps? Any on 74, 24-27, or 49?