Distracted driving forms the basis of some of the riskiest driving behaviors and situations that anyone could come across. Of course, distractions cover a wide range of potential actions, situations and so on.
For example, drowsy driving acts as a form of distracted driving. It has similar risky or even deadly potential repercussions, as well.
Intoxicated, distracted and drowsy driving
Sleep Foundation talks about the dangers posed by drowsy driving. Like other forms of distracted driving, drowsy driving puts a driver in a position where they cannot pay full attention to their surroundings. This results in making poor decisions that put the driver in more danger rather than taking them out of it.
Drowsy driving mimics several symptoms of intoxicated driving, too. For example, drowsy drivers suffer from slowed reflexes and reaction times. It takes more time for danger to register to a drowsy driver, wasting precious seconds that could have helped them get through a risky situation.
Sleeping at the wheel
Of course, extreme drowsiness can also lead to a driver falling asleep at the wheel. This renders them completely incapable of reacting to their surroundings in any way. This is particularly dangerous if it occurs on a freeway, where traveling at such high speeds can cause a driver to cross the distance of a football field in just three seconds. Losing consciousness for even a few seconds can thus result in horrific crashes, or may even result in a driver careening off the side of the road or through the meridian into oncoming traffic.
Needless to say, these potential scenarios represent just a small amount of the risk drowsy drivers often face and highlight why drowsiness poses such a threat.