Midnight may be for sleeping — but not behind the wheel!
Portsmouth police had their hands full after two separate incidents involving drivers who were so tired, they dozed off in their cars. One was even running at the time.
Incident #1: Dollar Tree Drowsiness
At 12:23 a.m., callers reported a woman either passed out or sleeping in a running vehicle parked on 5th Street outside the Dollar Tree. A bystander tried to wake her up — but instead of snapping out of it, she reportedly rolled her car forward and hit the vehicle in front of her.
Thankfully, there didn’t appear to be any damage, and no one was hurt. The woman told officers she was just exhausted. A friend came to pick her up and take her home.
Incident #2: Brake Light Nap
In another call, police headed to Grant Street, where a man was found asleep at the wheel of a black Ford — brake lights glowing, car still in gear. Officers took the man into custody and had his vehicle towed to the impound lot.
😵💫 Tired Drivers Are Just as Dangerous as Drunk Ones — Here’s Why:
Driving while sleep-deprived might not sound like a big deal, but science — and crash data — says otherwise:
🔹 Being awake for 18+ hours has the same effect on your brain as having a blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.05%. After 24 hours, that jumps to 0.10% — legally drunk in every state.
🔹 Drowsy drivers have slower reaction times, poor judgment, and are more likely to miss road signs or drift into other lanes — the exact same dangers posed by drunk drivers.
🔹 The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates drowsy driving causes over 100,000 crashes and 1,500 deaths a year in the U.S. alone.
🔹 Worst of all: You often don’t know how tired you really are until it’s too late.
Bottom line: If you’re too tired to drive, don’t. It’s not worth your life — or someone else’s. Pull over, call a friend, or wait it out. Because the only thing worse than falling asleep in your car is never waking up from it.
👮♀️ Stay alert, Portsmouth — or the next wake-up call could come from the back of a police cruiser.
