The California Highway Patrol says drowsy driving is just as bad as drinking and driving. Maureen Short, a Safety Engineer at Chevrolet, says drivers have a delayed reaction time when they're tired.
"Drowsy driving is extremely dangerous and unfortunately drivers admitted that 60 percent of the time, that they have driven while drowsy," said Short.
CHP says that in 2014, drowsy driving caused nearly 5,000 crashes, but by 2016 that number grew to nearly 7,000 fatigue collisions. A recent study by Triple-A suggests collisions with drowsy drivers could be eight times higher than official estimates. Short says it's important to get at least seven hours of sleep before a road trip.
"People don't know that they're tired, and they don't realize the impact that drowsiness has on the impact the drowsiness has on their ability to drive."
She said if you find yourself getting sleepy behind the wheel, phone a friend, turn on your safety features like lane assists, and pull over instead of risking your life.