(Radio Iowa) - With the switch to Daylight Saving Time coming this weekend, some Iowans may be starting next week out sleepy from that lost hour of shut-eye.
Triple-A Iowa spokesman Brian Ortner says a motor club study finds driving while drowsy can be dangerous, and even deadly. Ortner says drowsy drivers were involved in 18-percent of all traffic fatalities in recent years, accounting for nearly 30-thousand deaths nationwide. Ortner suggests Iowans try to get a nap on Sunday afternoon to help catch up on their sleep before Monday morning, especially if they have a lengthy commute. He says sleep deprivation increases a driver’s risk of making mistakes that can lead to crashes.
The Triple-A study finds those deprived of sleep by four or more hours have an impairment similar to those who are over the legal blood-alcohol limit.