Getting behind the wheel to drive when you are not as close to 100% alert, awake or sober is never a good idea, but like most of us have heard more about the affects of driving while intoxicated and not as much about driving while tired.  

According to a recent article in Huffington Post, driving while drowsy is just as dangerous as someone driving after consuming alcohol.  This does seems logical since being tired can be comparable to what can happen as a result of the affects of drinking just a little too much.  

Reuters first reported on a new study in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine, on car accident factors in southwest France. The study showed there was no difference between driving sleepy or drunk. Both doubled the risk of causing a car accident. This information is largely significant for drivers and the public to know because it can save lives.  

The study included 679 people who were hospitalized because of a car accident between 2007 and 2009 in France. According to the study, men and younger adults were more likely to drive while sleepy.

The researchers wrote:

In conclusion, the main factors associated with being responsible for a crash resulting in serious injury were younger age and driving cars, but more important were alcohol ingestion and sleepiness at the wheel, which are synergic.

Even though the study was in France, driving drowsy isn't unique to the European nation. CNN reported on a AAA Foundation poll, the results of which came out last year, showing that one in three people said they drove while they were drowsy in the last 30-day period.

Earlier last year, a study came out of the Netherlands showing that night-driving for two hours is akin to driving while buzzed; driving for three hours at night is akin to being drunk, Wired reported. In 2000, Australian researchers found that sleepy driving specifically messes with coordination, judgment and reaction time while driving, CNN reported.

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