Remember, a tired driver is an impaired driver

Imagine you’re following behind a vehicle on the roadway that is weaving and unable to maintain its lane. The vehicle speeds up and slows down as it weaves. Your first inclination, and that of many law enforcement officers, is to suspect a drunk driver.

It’s no secret that the focus of the Colorado State Patrol over the past several years has been on drivers who drive while under the influence of alcohol, drugs or sometimes both.  Our focus has also been on drivers who are distracted by cellphones and other electronic devices.  

Alcohol, drugs and cellphones all slow reaction time and decrease driver awareness. But tired and fatigued drivers demonstrate all the same outward and inward characteristics of an impaired and distracted driver with the same deadly results.

A Center for Disease Control and Prevention study found that a driver that has been awake for 18 hours has the same mental and physical characteristics of a Driving While Ability Impaired driver.

The same study found that a driver who has been awake for 24 hours has the same mental and physical characteristics of a DUI (Driving Under the Influence) driver.
 

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