NSF Statement Regarding Maggie's Law - Nation's First Law Aimed At Drowsy Driving

Washington, DC, August 5, 2003 -- The National Sleep Foundation (NSF) commends the state of New Jersey for its landmark legislation that addresses the dangers of drowsy driving. With "Maggie's Law," New Jersey has given the nation its first law that specifically states that a sleep-deprived driver is a reckless driver who can be convicted of vehicular homicide.

Maggie's Law should pave the way for other states to take a serious look at sleep deprived drivers by passing similar legislation and implementing aggressive educational programs. It will also provide a framework to educate the law enforcement community and the public about the relationship between fatigue and performance, and the research showing fatigue to be as much of an impairment as alcohol, and as dangerous behind the wheel.

According to NSF polls, more than one-half of America's drivers - over 100 million people - admit to driving while drowsy, and nearly two out of five, or 32 million people, say they actually fell asleep at the wheel. Maggie's Law can help reduce those ominous statistics, keep drowsy drivers off the road, and save lives.

BACKGROUND

In 1997, 20 year-old college student Maggie McDonnell was killed when a driver crossed three lanes of highway traffic and hit her car head on. The driver admitted he had been awake for 30 hours before the accident, and had also been using drugs. When the case went to trial, the jury deadlocked 9 to 3 for conviction. In the second trial, the defense argued there was no law in New Jersey against falling asleep at the wheel, and therefore, the driver did nothing wrong. The judge did not allow the jury to consider the driver's sleep deprivation; he received a suspended jail sentence and a $200 fine.

Since that verdict, Maggie's mother, Carole McDonnell, has been relentless in her efforts to see that justice prevailed in her daughter's memory. If there was no law to punish the man who killed her daughter, she would change that. Her success proves that one person can make a difference.

The New Jersey State Senate passed the bill, known as "Maggie's Law", on June 23, 2003. The law establishes fatigued driving as recklessness under the existing vehicular homicide statute (N.J.S.2C:11-5). This legislation overwhelming passed both chambers of the state legislature and represents the first bill in the nation to specifically address the issue of driving while fatigued. The bill defines "fatigue" as being without sleep for a period in excess of 24 consecutive hours.

Most people are aware that drunk drivers are a danger to themselves and others on the road. Sleepy drivers are as much of a danger, and sleep deprivation can cause impairment equal to drugs or alcohol. Two recent Australian studies demonstrate that being awake for 18 hours produces impairment equal to a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.05% and 0.1% after 24 hours; 0.08% is considered legally drunk.

In a survey conducted by NSF in 1998, all states except Alabama stated that people can be charged under existing laws for causing a crash or fatality after falling asleep at the wheel. NSF has witnessed an increase in successful prosecutions and civil suits against drowsy drivers in many states under laws that are similar to New Jersey's current law.

The National Sleep Foundation is an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to improving public health and safety by achieving understanding of sleep and sleep disorders, and by supporting education, sleep-related research and advocacy