Drowsy Driving Prevention Week

Occurs each November. Coincides with end of daylight saving time.

Sleep Awareness Week

Occurs each March. Coincides with "springing forward" for daylight saving time.

What is Drowsy Driving?

Drowsy driving is when a person drives while being impaired due to an insufficient amount of quality sleep necessary to safely operate a motor vehicle.

Make no mistake! Drowsy driving is impaired driving. As such, drowsy driving is often called the “fourth D” among drunk, drugged, and distracted causes of impaired driving. While each may have distinct features, all of these conditions slow reaction times and affect alertness and decision-making to increase the risk of motor vehicle crashes.

Drowsy Driving by the Numbers

Drowsy driving is a significant risk to public health and safety that is associated with potentially catastrophic personal and societal consequences, including the preventable loss of life and extensive economic damages.

• Motor vehicle crashes caused by drowsy driving account for roughly 20% of all crashes (NHTSA)
• Sleepiness is implicated in 21% of all motor vehicle crashes resulting in death and 13% of motor vehicle crashes resulting in hospitalizations—totaling more than 300,000 police-reported crashes, 100,000 injuries, and 6,400 deaths in the US each year (AAA Foundation)

Expert groups believe drowsy driving crashes are seriously underreported, and thus, these figures underestimate the true scope of the problem.

Drowsy Driving in Louisiana

Drowsy driving is a major contributor to crashes in Louisiana. Drowsy driving is a significant challenge due in part to exceedingly high numbers of commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) traveling its major interstates, particularly the I-10 corridor. Further, oil, gas, and petrochemical industries continue to thrive in Louisiana. They operate on “24/7” schedules with workers completing twelve-plus-hour shifts day and night. Industrial worksite activities like turnarounds require even lengthier, labor-intensive shifts resulting in exhausted employees. Additionally, healthcare and enforcement professions are popular in Louisiana, but their lengthy shift work schedules contribute to sleep disorders.

In Louisiana, drowsy driving fatal crashes increased from 2023 to 2024 based on data from crash reports. From 2020-2024, Louisiana experienced 58 fatal crashes due to drowsy driving, which comprised 2% of all fatal crashes during the period.

LHSC and NSF Collaboration to Address Drowsy Driving

In November 2025, the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission became the first State Highway Safety Office (SHSO) to execute a multi-faceted campaign to bring attention to the dangers of drowsy driving by partnering with the country’s foremost experts on the issue at the National Sleep Foundation (NSF).

Founded in 1990, NSF is committed to advancing excellence in sleep health theory, research, and practice. The organization is dedicated to improving health and well-being through sleep education and advocacy.

Together, LHSC and NSF executed a crash prevention plan anchored by four distinct undertakings that coincided with Drowsy Driving Prevention Week ®, a national campaign of the National Sleep Foundation.

The plan included the following elements:

• • A statewide media advisory calling attention to drowsy driving and the declaration of an awareness week;
  • A Governor’s Proclamation declaring Drowsy Driving Prevention Week in Louisiana from November 2-8 to coincide with NSF’s national awareness campaign period;
  • A robust week-long social media campaign across LHSC’s platforms of Facebook, Instagram, and X; and
  • A virtual training conducted by NSF’s leading experts about how to apply the science of sleep to effective practices and policies at the individual and systems levels.

Wake Up Before You Go-Go! A Virtual Training on Drowsy Driving. Conducted November 2025. Featured Joseph Dzierzewski, PhD - SVP, Research & Scientific Affairs, NSF; Mark R. Rosekind, PhD – Former Administrator, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and Member of NSF Board of Directors; and John Lopos – CEO, NSF

Other Drowsy Driving Resources

NSF’s Drowsy Driving Prevention Week Toolkit: Contains research, key talking points, social media graphics, information about related sleep health topics, and collaborator opportunities. Click here to access.

NSF’s Annual Drowsy Driving Survey: Annually, NSF fields three separate, nationally representative, population-based surveys and analyzes and reports the data via a report. This is the largest collection of data about the impact of sleep health on driving behavior in the country. Click here to access.

Louisiana-based Research: In 2020, researchers published the following article, “Understanding the drowsy driving crash patterns from correspondence regression analysis” in the Journal of Safety Research. The research team documented their review of Louisiana crash data from 2015-2019 where they found that 14% of drowsy driving crashes resulted in an injury (fatal, severe, or moderate). Further, the researchers utilized regression analysis to identify commonalities across attributes of these crashes. For example, they concluded pick-up truck drivers are at greater risk in rural areas; rural area, multiple-passenger, older drivers are linked to fatal and severe crash risks; and young drowsy drivers have higher risks on low-speed roads.