Recent accidents highlight the danger of sleepy drivers

CLEVELAND - The Ohio State Highway Patrol is on the lookout for sleepy drivers in the wake of recent accidents, one of them fatal, caused by truck drivers who fell asleep behind the wheel while on the Ohio Turnpike.

Other than speeders and drunk drivers, people too tired to be behind the wheel are the most dangerous drivers on the road. Some are comparable to a drunk driver with a blood alcohol level of nearly twice the legal limit.

"Sleepy drivers are just as dangerous as drunk drivers," said trooper Eric Wlodarsky, of the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

Citing recent statistics, Wlodarsky, who patrols the turnpike, said fatigued drivers are seven times more likely to crash than anyone else on the road.  Tired truck drivers pose the greatest risk to other motorists around them.

Monday on Interstate-80 in Streetsboro, a Mack truck pulling three trailers slammed into the rear of a Ford Focus driven by Susan Slattery, 47, of Cockeysville, Md.

Slattery's car caught fire and was engulfed in flames. She died at the scene. Her sons, Peter, 16, and Matthew, 12, were critically injured. 

Douglas S. Bouch, 48, of Greensville, Pa., was driving the truck and told the Ohio State Highway Patrol he fell asleep behind the wheel. Charges against him are pending a review by the Portage County prosecutor.

In a second turnpike accident in Streetsboro Wednesday, a truck hauling hydrochloric acid overturned and forced the evacuation of 20 nearby homes. Investigators said the driver had fallen asleep.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol is combating the problem of tired drivers through enforcement, education, and engineering. 

Troopers are handing out more violations to drivers who stray over lanes, raising more awareness through signs, pamphlets, and public service announcements, and building more rumble strips to keep drivers alert.