Sleepiness, near-misses and driving accidents among a representative population of French drivers.
Study objectives were to determine the prevalence of sleepy driving accidents and to explore the factors associated with near-miss driving accidents and actual driving accidents in France. An epidemiological survey based on telephone interviews was conducted on a representative sample of French drivers. The questionnaire included sociodemographics, driving and sleep disorder items, and the Epworth sleepiness scale. Of 4774 drivers (response rate: 86%), 28% experienced at least one episode of severe sleepiness at the wheel (i.e. requiring to stop driving) in the previous year; 11% of drivers reported at least one near-miss accident in the previous year (46% sleep-related); 5.8% of drivers reported at least one accident, 5.2% of these being sleep related (an estimate of 90,000 sleep-related accidents per year in France). Sleepy driving accidents occurred more often in the city (53.8%), during short trips (84.6%) and during the day (84.6%). Using logistic regression, the best predictive factor for near-misses was the occurrence of at least one episode of severe sleepiness at the wheel in the past year [odds ratio (OR) 6.50, 95% confidence interval (CI), 5.20-8.12, P < 0.001]. The best predictive factors for accidents were being young (18-30 years; OR 2.13, 95% CI, 1.51-3.00, P < 0.001) and experiencing at least one episode of severe sleepiness at the wheel (OR 2.03, 95% CI, 1.57-2.64, P < 0.001). Sleepiness at the wheel is a risk factor as important as age for traffic accidents. Near-misses are highly correlated to sleepiness at the wheel and should be considered as strong warning signals for future accidents.
Sagaspe
Patricia
P
INRETS-LCPC, LEPSIS, Paris, France.
Taillard
Jacques
J
Bayon
Virginie
V
Lagarde
Emmanuel
E
Moore
Nicholas
N
Boussuge
Jacques
J
Chaumet
Guillaume
G
Bioulac
Bernard
B
Philip
Pierre
P
D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000523:psychology* / Q000639:trends; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D001143:Arousal; D001334:Automobile Driving / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D005221:Fatigue / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005602:France / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012737:Sex Factors; D055815:Young Adult