New York DMV raises awareness on drowsy driving after ending of daylight saving time

ALBANY- With the recent end of daylight saving time, we are now amidst the shortest, darkest days of the year and officials from the New York DMV are raising awareness on drowsy driving.

“Drowsiness and fatigue are contributing factors in thousands of crashes every year on our highways, causing far too many preventable deaths and injuries,” said DMV Commissioner Mark J.F. Schroeder.

Last year in 2024, 4,722 police-reported crashes in New York State involved “fatigue/drowsy driving” and/or “driver fell asleep” as contributing factors, according to preliminary statistics from the Institute for Traffic Safety Management and Research (ITSMR) at the University at Albany’s Rockefeller College.

Of the reported crashes, nine involved at least one fatality and 1,777 involved at least one injury.

So far in 2025, those same factors have been listed 1,903 times on police crash reports from across the state, according to preliminary figures from ITSMR.

Of those reported crashes, four involved at least one fatality and 700 involved at least one injury.

The warning signs of drowsy driving, according to the DMV, include repeated yawning, struggling to keep one’s eyes open and focused, forgetting the last few miles driven, tailgating or missing traffic signals, and swerving or drifting between lanes of traffic.

From January 1, 2020, through December 31, 2024, officials say drowsy/fatigued commercial drivers caused 742 crashes in New York State, according to data from NYSDOT CLEAR (Crash Location Editing and Analysis Repository) and the New York State Sheriffs’ Association.

Those crashes resulted in 526 injuries and five fatalities, according to data.

NYS DMV image.