Drowsy Drivers Consumer Report

Thursday, 18 June 2009 10:50

blogs.consumerports.com June 17, 2009

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Drowsy drivers: Study finds motorists asleep at the wheel

A good night’s sleep seems to elude many of us. A recent study conducted by the Consumer Reports National Research Center found that about half of respondents either had trouble falling asleep, difficulty staying asleep, or wake up too early. Sleeplessness can affect your daily performance at work, school, and on the road. Drowsy driving crashes can be hard to detect due to difficult and unreliable reporting, but the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates there are about 100,000 sleep-related crashes per year and 1,550 fatalities.

A 2005 survey from the National Sleep Foundation found 60 percent of drivers (168 million people) drove while drowsy in the past year and more than a third have fallen asleep behind the wheel. Four percent of these people, or 11 million drivers say they have either been in an accident or almost had an accident.

We’ve all been there—trying to stay awake while driving. Using all the tactics such as opening the window, playing loud music, and drinking caffeine, but the best and safest remedy is to pull over and take a short snooze or not drive at all if you’re tired.

Sleeplessness can lead to slow reaction time, poor vision, missed exits or traffic signs, and trouble staying in the lane. This puts the driver, as well as others on the road, in serious danger. The effects have been compared to driving while drunk.

The groups that are most at risk for drowsy driving are young males under age 26, shift workers, commercial drivers, and those with untreated or undetected sleep disorders. However, there are some things that can be done.

A number of trucking companies are screening their drivers for sleep disorders, such as apnea and helping them to receive treatment. They are also looking at studying the effects of installing a drowsy driving warning system in their rigs. NHTSA recently conducted a prototype study on these devices and found that it could have a positive impact on driver safety, but there are still a number of considerations such as cost to companies and driver acceptance.

For young people, a number of states have instituted graduated licensing laws that help build driving experience through a multi-stage program. One part of the program is a restriction on nighttime driving, which has helped to reduce accidents and deaths by up to 60 percent.

So, what else can be done? Here are some tips to help reduce or prevent drowsy driving.

• Get adequate sleep before you get in the car.
• Take breaks—especially if driving a long distance.
• Arrange for a travel companion to swap driving duties.
• Avoid alcohol and/or medications that can cause drowsiness.
• If feeling tired, pull off the road and nap for 15-20 minutes.
• Caffeine may help, but can take some time to get into your system and when it wears off can leave you even more tired.
• If you have a teen driver, implement your own nighttime driving restrictions.
• Drinking a good quantity of water helps as it prevents dehydration that can cause drowsiness. It also requires you to pull over regularly and stretch your legs for a bathroom break.

—Liza Barth