Drowsy Driving Problems Highlighted In New Study

Sarah Danik

PHILADELPHIA (CNN) -- You've heard of distracted and drunk driving, but what about drowsy driving? It's not a new issue, but one that's now getting more attention.

A new report out this week from the Governors Highway Safety Association and State Farm Insurance is highlighting the problem. The report says almost 84 million drivers in the U.S. are driving drowsy, and an estimated 5,000 people were killed in 2015 because of drowsy driving crashes.

Drowsy driving is also costing money. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that the annual cost of drowsy driving is $109 billion.

There are, however, tips to keep the danger down.

South Carolina Highway Patrol Trooper Joe Hovis gave us some advice.

"If you're on a long trip, you need to get out of your car every couple of hours. You need to walk around and drink water, maybe go to the bathroom, stretch your legs," said Hovis. "Just something to keep yourself away from the redundancy that goes with driving on a long trip."

To see the full report, follow this link: http://www.ghsa.org/files/pubs/sfdrowsy/FINALdrowsy2016.pdf

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