Drowsy driving is more than just falling asleep at the wheel. “It mimics alcohol-impaired driving in many ways,” says Stephen Higgins, a researcher at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). In fact, drowsy driving has been categorized as yet another form of impaired driving, along with drunk driving, distracted driving, and drugged driving. (more…)

Distracted driving has quickly become an epidemic thanks to the pervasiveness of smartphones, but drunk driving is still one of the top causes of fatalities on the road. In 2015, alcohol-related traffic deaths went up 28 percent, from 236 in 2014 to 303 in 2015, according to Michigan’s Office of Highway Safety Planning. Fatalities among all auto accidents – not only drunken driving fatalities – increased 10 percent, from 876 in 2014 to 963 in 2015 – this is the highest the number has been in Michigan in the past five years. (more…)

Prom season has a bad reputation, and with good reason. Ninety percent of teens believe that their peers are more likely to drink and drive on prom night, and 54 percent of students have four or more drinks on prom night, according to a study conducted by Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) and a leading insurance company. But even admitting these beliefs and behaviors isn’t enough to stop teens from continuing to make bad choices that lead to fatal car accidents. As a result, prom night can be one of the deadliest for teens. (more…)

Macomb County roads have been the site of five fatalities involving motorcycles in the last several weeks. The most recent accident on August 7, occurred because the driver of the motorcycle was operating the machine at a high rate of speed and was unable to navigate a curve in the road. He struck a guardrail and was killed. The motorcycle operator was not wearing a helmet.  (more…)

While there isn’t a computer around that can actually prevent a person from getting behind the wheel of their car after they’ve been drinking, a computer algorithm has been developed to recognize drunk people. Chances are, if someone’s drunk they’re more likely to be sitting at a bar or hanging out in a group of people than sitting behind their computer. However, the Greek researchers who developed this new program believe it could be installed in cars in order to prevent drunk driving.  (more…)