Data from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine show 41% of adults have driven while dangerously tired, warning that caffeine cannot substitute for rest.
RT’s Three Key Takeaways:
- High Prevalence of Driving Fatigue: An American Academy of Sleep Medicine survey revealed that 41% of US adults have felt sleepy enough behind the wheel to impair their driving safety.
- Ineffectiveness of Common Countermeasures: While most fatigued motorists turn to coffee, open windows, or loud radios, sleep specialists caution that caffeine and quick fixes cannot replace the restorative benefits of sleep.
- Elevated Crash Likelihood: Research indicates that operating a vehicle on four hours of sleep carries an impairment risk comparable to driving with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08, contributing to more than 6,000 fatal crashes each year.
According to survey results [PDF] released by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM), 41% of US adults report having felt so sleepy while driving that it negatively affected their ability to drive safely.
“Drowsy driving puts everyone on the road at risk,” said Dr Fariha Abbasi-Feinberg, president of the AASM. “It’s important to recognize the warning signs that you are too tired to drive. If you are yawning, drifting into other lanes, or nodding off, it’s time to pull over to get some sleep.”
Common Alertness Tactics Fall Short
The survey findings revealed that adults who acknowledged driving while sleepy frequently turn to temporary behavioral tactics in an attempt to remain alert behind the wheel. According to the AASM, 65% drink coffee or caffeinated beverages, 59% open a vehicle window, 52% turn up the volume on the radio, 50% pull over to take a break, 44% drink water, 37% eat a snack, 28% make a phone call, and 23% listen to an audiobook or podcast.
Sleep medicine experts caution that such methods do not address underlying sleep debt.
“There is no strategy that can substitute for sufficient sleep,” said Abbasi-Feinberg, president of the AASM. “A quick fix, like drinking coffee or a caffeinated beverage, may provide a temporary boost in alertness, but it cannot replace the restorative benefits of sleep. If you’re too sleepy, the safest choice is to stay off the road.”
Fatigue alters driver performance by reducing alertness, slowing reaction times, and impairing clinical judgment. Drivers may also experience microsleeps—brief, involuntary lapses in consciousness that can lead directly to catastrophic vehicle control failures.
Scope of Collision Hazards
Data from the American Automobile Association (AAA) Foundation for Traffic Safety highlighted the widespread impact of fatigue-related motor vehicle incidents. According to AAA research cited by the AASM, drowsy driving is a factor in more than one in six vehicle crashes—an incidence nearly eight times higher than federal estimates—and contributes to more than 6,000 fatalities each year.
“Drowsy driving isn’t limited to nodding off behind the wheel,” said Jake Nelson, director of traffic safety advocacy and research at AAA. “Research from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety has found that driving after getting only four hours of sleep is associated with a crash risk comparable to driving with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08. Coffee, fresh air, or a loud radio may make you feel more alert temporarily, but they cannot replace sleep. If you become drowsy on the road, a 20- to 30-minute nap can help restore alertness for up to two hours. Before getting behind the wheel, ask yourself whether you’re truly rested enough to drive safely.”
Mitigation and Shift-Work Safety
In recognition of the National Sleep Foundation’s Drowsy Driving Prevention Week, held Nov 1-7, the AASM highlighted practical risk-reduction recommendations for motorists, including shift-based healthcare personnel completing overnight or extended assignments.
According to the organization’s release, drivers should:
- Obtain seven or more hours of sleep routinely before operating a vehicle, aligning with clinical standards for adult sleep health.
- Avoid driving during late-night and early-morning hours when the circadian drive for sleep is strongest.
- Avoid driving unaccompanied when tired, allowing passengers to help monitor for behavioral signs of sleepiness.
- Share driving responsibilities with well-rested passengers during long-distance travel.
- Stop at safe designated rest areas to take a short nap rather than continuing to drive fatigued.
- Arrange alternative transportation or ride with a rested individual when leaving late work shifts.
According to the AASM, the online survey included 2,007 US adults and was administered by Atomik Research between June 5 and June 13, 2025, with an overall margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points at a 95% confidence interval.
