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AAA: Drowsy driving crashes 8 times higher than federal estimates

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — It turns out that driving while drowsy is an even bigger problem than originally thought.

Overnight, AAA released results of a new study that shows drowsy driving plays a role in nearly one in 10 crashes.

[CLICK HERE FOR THE AAA STUDY]

The new AAA study differs greatly from national statistics, revealing that drowsy driving could be much more rampant than many thought.

AAA said its study incorporated dash cam video from more than 700 crashes, and that 10 percent of those crashes could be linked to driver drowsiness.

Channel 9 has reported on several deadly crashes in and around Charlotte because of drowsiness, including one in December in Gaston County where a man fell asleep behind the wheel on Dallas-Cherryville Highway.

[Troopers: Deadly Gaston County crash caused by driver who fell asleep]

One person was killed in that wreck.

In 2015, Channel 9 investigated drowsy driving among truckers, including a particular crash on Interstate 26. In that case, a truck driver fell asleep on the interstate in Hendersonville, causing a crash that killed five people, troopers said.

Channel 9 learned that the reason national statistics differ so much from the AAA study is that it can be hard for law enforcement to determine if someone is drowsy unless they admit it.

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