State to track tired and distracted drivers

State transportation officials are re-writing accident reports to start tabulating the number of accidents caused by drowsy or distracted drivers. Scott Falb of the Iowa Department of Transportation says sleepy drivers can be more dangerous than a drunk behind the wheel.Falb says officers of the past didn’t keep track of drunk drivers either, but changed as it became a major problem. He says the same thing will happen with fatigue driving.Falb says starting in January, crash reports in Iowa will list different categories, such as driver talking on cell phone.National data indicates up to one-quarter of accidents are caused by sleepiness, fatigue or drowsiness. Falb says Iowa will start collecting those kinds of statistics next year. Falb says the causes listed on present-day accident reports indicate up to 20 percent of accidents in Iowa could be caused by fatigue.In Iowa, about 27 percent of accident fatalities are alcohol-related and another 30 percent of crashes are attributes to alcohol consumption.