Drowsy Driving Risks Highlighted After Cheyenne Truck Rollover

The Wyoming Highway Patrol is reminding people that driving on a lack of sleep is as dangerous as driving impaired, following a dump truck accident on Interstate 80 in Cheyenne on Wednesday morning.

That's according to a post on the WHP Facebook page.

The post says troopers responded to a single vehicle rollover at 7:22 a.m. on October 29 at Milepost Marker 362. When they got there, they found that an eastbound commercial dump truck had drifted to the right side of the roadway before hitting a jersey barrier on the front passenger side of the truck.

It then tripped and rolled off the right side of the roadway.

The driver admitted to having fallen asleep at the wheel. Fortunately, he was wearing his seatbelt and suffered only minor injuries. No other vehicles were involved, and no one else was injured.

According to the post, "After further investigation, the driver was cited with Careless Driving along with multiple commercial violations."

Drowsy Driving Is Killing People On American Highways

The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety estimates that  17.6% of all fatal crashes in the years 2017–2021 involved a drowsy driver. It's possible that the number could be even higher, because while blood tests and toxicology screens can identify whether a driver was intoxicated, there aren't comparable ways to identify sleep-deprived drivers.