When sharing the road with other vehicles, you should always drive defensively. After all, you never know what state the other drivers are in. On top of that, while some dangerous driving behaviors are visible on the outside, others are not.

Drowsy driving is one such behavior. And as more and more crashes happen due to drowsy driving, experts begin looking into the potential sources that keep causing it to happen.

Drowsy driving due to obligations

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention look at potential disorders and other factors that may contribute to drowsy driving. At its base, drowsy driving simply involves someone getting behind the wheel when they have not gotten a sufficient amount of sleep beforehand.

But there are many different reasons for that to occur. Some are within a driver’s ability to control, while others may be a little more out of their hands. For example, drivers often feel bound by obligation to get in to work on time. Because of that, they will hit the road when it is time to leave for work regardless of how little they slept the night before.

Victims who suffer from sleep disorders also struggle to gain enough sleep to feel rested. At the same time, many continue to drive because they have no alternatives to get to where they need to go.

Accidents with medication

Then, there are certain types of medications that can also cause drowsiness. Sometimes a doctor or pharmacist may not give proper warning about these potential effects. Sometimes the effects are unusual. Sometimes a driver may simply forget about them. The end result is the same, though: another contributing factor to the rising problem of drowsy driving.