People keep driving even when they're falling asleep

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

A study from France shows how drivers put themselves and others at risk by ignoring sleepiness.
We already know that falling asleep at the wheel is a major factor in road traffic injury and death. The proportion of car crashes linked to sleepiness ranges from three to 33 per cent. But less is known about whether drivers are aware of sleepiness and what they do about it.

A team in Bordeaux, France, has done a survey of over 13,000 drivers, collecting data on sleepiness and serious accidents. In answer to the question 'Have you ever driven while sleepy?' 63 per cent of participants answered 'never', 36 per cent a few times in the year, 0.8 per cent about once a month, 0.3 per cent about once a week and 0.2 per cent more than once a week. There was also a strong association between self-assessed driving when sleepy and the risk of serious accidents.

Those who drove when sleepy a few times a year were 1.5 times more likely to have been involved in such an accident and those doing it more than once a month ran three times the risk. It may be that drivers underestimate the risks of driving when sleepy or have too much faith in their ability to cope. More messages should be put on the highway to remind drivers of the danger of sleepiness. One thing you can try is to stop as soon as you feel tired, have a coffee, have a walk, and then take another cup of coffee. Better still is to plan not to drive when you know you'll be tired.

Source
BMJ Online First 22nd June 2006

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