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Sleepy? Stay off the roads

Drowsy driving kills, and area commuters are at risk because many drive on too little sleep

Date published: 11/9/2008

BY STEPHANIE BREIJO

In 2002, a Hartwood resident and her 10-year-old daughter were killed when the driver of a tractor-trailer barreled through a red light on U.S. 17 and struck their car.

Police said they believed the trucker was driving drowsy--a leading cause of accidents nationwide, and a concern for local commuters who spend long hours on the roads.

Drowsy driving kills more than 1,500 Americans each year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and accounts for more than 100,000 reported car accidents, 71,000 injuries and $12.5 billion in monetary losses.

Fredericksburg sleep specialists are hoping to prevent further tragedies by raising awareness of the problem during national Drowsy Driving Prevention Week.

From noon to 5 p.m. on Thursday, certified sleep technicians from the Mary Washington Hospital Sleep and Wake Disorders Center will dole out information at the rest stop between Exits 130 and 133 of Interstate 95. They also will show a short film on the dan- gers of drowsy driving and what you can do to prevent it.

"Everyone is at risk, especially in Virginia," said registered sleep technician Diana Per-kins. "Commuters are a huge demographic. People go to sleep at 10, 11 o'clock at night and wake up at 3 or 4 in the morning. That's just not enough sleep, and they need to know that."

Though Virginia is one of two states that ban driving for more than 13 hours in any 24-hour period, the law is difficult to enforce.

Perkins, the sleep specialist, said her husband saw a drowsy driver drift over three lanes near Hampton Roads last July. The driver sideswiped a state police cruiser with a trooper sitting inside, sparking a small fire under the police vehicle and trapping the officer. The trooper survived, and the drowsy driver was arrested and charged with one count of reckless driving, Per-kins said.

"If you close your eyes when you're riding in a car, count to five and see how far you've gone, and look and see how many people you could possibly kill," Perkins said. "It might surprise you."

Drowsy driving can be caused by a number of factors, including sleep loss, undiagnosed sleep disorders, stress, depression and the consumption of sedating medication.

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Date published: 11/9/2008