Support for LAist comes from
Become a sponsor
Audience-funded nonprofit news
Donate
Stay Connected

LAist is part of Southern California Public Radio, a member-supported public media network.

Audience-funded nonprofit news
Listen
Donate
Podcasts Take Two
Why drowsy driving is dangerous and hard to catch
solid orange rectangular banner
()
Take Two Logo
Jun 10, 2014
Listen • 6:17
Why drowsy driving is dangerous and hard to catch
The truck driver who hit comedian Tracy Morgan last weekend hadn't slept in more than 24 hours before the accident. Some describe drowsy driving just as dangerous and drunk driving, but it can also be difficult to test for.
Tracy Morgan speaks onstage at Spike TV's "Don Rickles: One Night Only" on May 6, 2014 in New York City.
Tracy Morgan speaks onstage at Spike TV's "Don Rickles: One Night Only" on May 6, 2014 in New York City.
(
Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Spike TV
)

The truck driver who hit comedian Tracy Morgan last weekend hadn't slept in more than 24 hours before the accident. Some describe drowsy driving just as dangerous and drunk driving, but it can also be difficult to test for.

Police officials say the truck driver who hit and critically injured comedian Tracy Morgan last weekend hadn't slept in more than 24 hours before the accident.

RELATED: Trucker in Tracy Morgan crash lacked sleep, prosecutor says 

Morgan is still recuperating from that New Jersey car crash, which left one person dead.

Drowsy driving has sometimes been described just as dangerous as drunken driving, but unlike drunken driving, it can't be accurately tested for.

Dr. Charles Cziesler, professor of sleep medicine at Harvard Medical School, joins Take Two to explain the difficulties in punishing drowsy drivers, as well as talk about who is most likely to fall asleep behind the wheel.