If texting while driving will get your eyes off the road for a second or less and such short span of time can be fatal, how much more if you’d fall asleep while your hands are on the wheels?

The National Transportation Safety Board had identified drowsiness as one of the contributing factor in maritime, aviation and auto accidents.

There are many scenarios that can take place when a driver dozes off while driving. He or she can swerve to the other lane and collide with the incoming traffic, or the vehicle might ram into a structure or hit pedestrians, causing property damage and bodily injuries.

Around 41 percent of drivers admitted that they have “fallen asleep or nodded off” while driving at some point in their lives, this according to a national representative telephone survey conducted by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety in 2010. The AAA study also noted that the numbers of those people who have fallen asleep while driving are relatively high between the hours of noon and 5pm. On the other hand, the study also noted that men are more likely to fall asleep while driving than women.

According to a study released by Knipling & Wang in 1995, it is being said that 1.6 percent of all police-reported crashes, a drowsy driver has been involved.

With too many cars on the road nowadays, the driving risks have greatly amplified. And being a drowsy driver does not only add to chances in having an accident but adding to the entire driving risks that would affect other people.

It is important that drivers should be well-rested before they hit the road especially on long trips. Staying awake while on the wheels will not only save yourself from harm. You are also saving yourself from possible liabilities that may bring you grave financial troubles.