It's likely that many Virginia residents have driven drowsy at least once in recent days. In a Sleep Prioritization Survey from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, 45% of the 2,003 U.S. adults involved admitted that they have had to struggle to stay awake while on the road.
Many drivers fail to use advanced safety tech properly
Advanced safety technologies are supposed to make cars safer in Virginia and across the U.S. However, according to a new study, these systems are placing some drivers at additional risk.
Alcohol detection systems on cars may become mandatory
The Reduce Impaired Driving for Everyone Act of 2019 is a bill that has been introduced in Congress, and if implemented, it would require automakers to equip their vehicles with an alcohol detection device by 2024. Residents of Virginia should know that the device has not been made yet. The bill would fund the research, development and testing. Details on implementation are few, but the benefits of such a device are clear.
New technology may curb drunk driving
If passed, the Reduce Impaired Driving for Everyone Act of 2019 would require all vehicles to have alcohol detection equipment installed in all new cars by 2024. According to its sponsors, the legislation could result in 7,000 fewer deaths on Virginia roads and others nationwide per year. The RIDE Act would first require that alcohol detection software be installed on a fleet of vehicles to determine how such a system would work.
Opioids a possible factor in hundreds of fatal two-car crashes
The opioid crisis in Virginia and across the U.S. is putting drivers in danger. Opioids cause cognitive and psychomotor impairment, so those who take them and then head out on the road run the risk of becoming, among other things, drowsy. In 2016, 7.1% of all the drivers who caused a car crash were found with opioids in their system. This is a sharp increase from 1993, when the percentage was 2%.
