Over the
last five years 74 people have died in crashes involving a drowsy driver in
Oregon, and the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) reminds drivers of
this in light of this weekend’s ‘spring forward.’

On Sunday,
March 11, Oregonians will set their clocks forward an hour and for many that
means losing an hour of sleep.

“Most people
tend to make the adjustment in one day and that’s a bit of a shocker to your
system,” said Walt McAllister in an ODOT news release. “Start making
adjustments on Thursday or Friday with two or three nights in a row of good
sleep. That way when you hit work on Monday morning you’re all ready to go.”

Across the country, the
National Traffic Highway Safety Administration reports drowsy driving causes more than 100,000
crashes every year, which results in 40,000 injuries and 1,550 deaths.  

According to ODOT, if you feel
sleepy while driving you should pull off the road to a safe spot and take a 20
minute nap, which is usually enough to get you rested and revived.

“One of the things about drowsiness is it makes you less
able to respond to sudden changes,” McAllister said. “When you’re driving at 55
or 60, or you’re on a busy street with pedestrians and bicyclists as well as
others, the last thing you want is to be inattentive. Get off the road, for
your sake and for the safety of everyone else.”

For more tips on drowsy driving, go
here.