title: The scope and nature of the drowsy driving problem in New York State.
abstract: A telephone survey was conducted of a random sample of New York State licensed drivers to determine the prevalence and circumstances of drowsy driving. Based on the survey responses, 54.6% of the drivers had driven while drowsy within the past year; 22.6% had ever fallen asleep at the wheel without having a crash, 2.8% had ever crashed when they fell asleep, and 1.9% had crashed when driving while drowsy. Of the reported crashes due to driving while drowsy or falling asleep at the wheel, 82.5% involved the driver alone in the vehicle, 60.0% occurred between 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. 47.5% were drive-off-road crashes, and 40.0% occurred on a highway or expressway. Multiple regression analysis suggested that the following driver variables are predictive of an increased frequency of driving drowsy: demographic characteristics (younger drivers, more education, and men); sleep patterns (fewer hours of sleep at night and greater frequency of trouble staying awake during the day); work patterns (greater frequency of driving for job and working rotating shifts); and driving patterns (greater number of miles driven annually and fewer number of hours a person can drive before becoming drowsy).
authors.affiliation: Institute for Traffic Safety Management and Research, University at Albany, State University of New York 12205-2604, USA.
authors.forename: A T
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: McCartt
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Ribner
authors.forename: A I
authors.initials: AI
authors.lastname: Pack
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Hammer
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001334:Automobile Driving / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009518:New York / Q000453:epidemiology; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D015995:Prevalence; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D012894:Sleep Stages; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors; D014940:Work Schedule Tolerance