The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration conservatively estimates that 100,000 police-reported crashes are the direct result of driver fatigue each year. These crashes cause over 1,550 deaths and 71,000 injuries as well as $12.5 billion in diminished productivity and property loss. (Knipling RR and Wang JS 1995).

A new study by researchers at Stanford University Medical Center indicates that sleep impacts reaction time and driving performance as much as alcohol, and that sleep-deprived drivers pose a major risk on the highways.

"Our study demonstrates that driving while sleepy is at least as dangerous, if not more dangerous, than driving while intoxicated," said Nelson B. Powell, MD, co-director of the Stanford Sleep Disorders Clinic and Research Center. The results of the study, co-authored by Powell and researchers from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, were published in the May issue of Laryngoscope. The study was conducted in collaboration with General Motors Corp. and NBC News.

A large percentage of Americans suffer from acute or chronic sleep deprivation and experience daytime sleepiness. While sleep loss can lead to errors in daytime activities, Powell said the magnitude of the risks are not widely acknowledged or understood. Powell's team conducted the study to emphasize the effects of sleep deprivation on a common daytime activity – driving – and to raise awareness of the serious consequences associated with a lack of sleep. (Excerpt from May 24, 2001 press release from Stanford Hospital's Office of News and Public Affairs.)

As FATAL FATIGUE members, we believe that by educating the public about the dangers of driving while drowsy is a vital and necessary cause. Through these educational efforts and changes in legislation, we can be successful with our ultimate goal--saving lives by making our roadways safer.

"I am personally committed to working with state legislators in revising our state law so that negligent and irresponsible drivers, who fall asleep at the wheel and take our loved ones lives, know that they will be held accountable for their actions! No one should lose a loved one this way and then have to go through the frustration of discovering there is no law in place to deal with this sort of injustice. Please support our cause by becoming informed and assisting our group with changing state law! Please write your local representative and ask him or her to support a bill that would bring responsibility to drivers who fall asleep at the wheel and take the life of another. Please support our effort or create your own public awareness campaign to alert motorists as to the dangers of driver fatigue!"
Carol Dorn - Wife of Daryl Dorn