In regards to “Getting people’s attention about the dangers of drowsy driving” by Mora Haggerty Shaw:

A few years ago, one of my close family friends was driving back to college and fell asleep while driving on the freeway. He drove into the guard rail and died. After this tragedy, my family and I have become more aware of the dangers of driving when exhausted.

Teenagers should sleep at least nine hours a night to be healthy, but most get about 6-7 hours of sleep a night. Most mornings when I am driving to school, it is still dark, and I am not yet fully awake. It’s possible for me to be yawning or fall asleep at a stoplight on my way to school which is extremely dangerous. I know I am not the only one in this boat. Teenagers are up late at night doing homework and extracurricular activities and wake up by at least 6 a.m. for school. Some even have before school classes, waking them up even earlier. With this little sleep and such little driving experience, teenagers are bound to fall asleep at the wheel and endanger their own lives and the lives of others on the road.

The only solution is to start schools later in the morning so students have more time to sleep, or to not let students drive at such an early age. If we don’t do something to prevent drowsy driving, the number of people that are affected by this will continue to increase.

Anna Yost

Redmond