AAA Michigan is sending out a statewide DROWSY DRIVING SAFETY ALERT urging drivers to use extra caution during this first week of Daylight Saving Time (DST). There is a growing concern about the impact of sleep deprivation on safe driving and the increased risks for car crashes during the switch to DST.
The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety’s 2016 TRAFFIC SAFETY CULTURE INDEX reported that:
· Nearly 3 in 10 drivers reported having driven when they were so tired that they had a hard time keeping their eyes open in the past 30 days.
· Nearly 20% of drivers reported having done this more than once.
· Nearly 3% of drivers reported having done this fairly often or regularly.
A RESEARCH PAPER from the University of Colorado Boulder reported that in the first six days of daylight saving time there were 302 deaths and a cost of $2.75 billion over a 10-year period. The study looked at detailed records in fatal crashes in the United States, the change from DST to standard time and the impact of extending DST. The main finding of the study is that the spring transition to DST increases fatal car crash risks between 5-7%.