AAA: Two out of five drivers has fallen asleep at the wheel

AAA: Two out of five drivers has fallen asleep at the wheel

WBEZ brings you fact-based news and information. Sign up for our newsletters to stay up to date on the stories that matter.

Two out of every five drivers admit to having fallen asleep at the wheel.

That’s according to a new study from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.

Juan Valenzuela is with the Illinois State Police.

He says truck and bus drivers in Illinois have restrictions on how many hours they can be on the road, but regular motorists don’t. “There is no legal ramification. The only thing you can tell someone is that they could be negligent in their driving and you could issue traffic citations for that end. But nonetheless, if people decide to willfully drive in a fatigued state it would depend on the circumstances of the incident that would occur,” Valenzuela said.

Valenzuela says the Illinois State Police doesn’t keep track of drowsy driving incidents.

He encourages tired drivers to look into alternatives such as public transportation or cabs.