Sleepy Driver Near-Misses May Predict Accident Risks

This article reports on a cross-sectional, internet-linked study undertaken to quantify the prevalence of self-reported near-miss sleepy driving accidents and their association with self-reported actual driving accidents. The data was gathered at the Dateline NBC News website and results are given on 35,217 (88% of sample) individuals with a mean age of 37.2 (plus or minus13 years) which consisted of 54.8% women, and 87% white persons. The risk of at least one accident increased from 23.2% for people who reported no near-miss sleepy accidents to 44.5% if the respondent report 4 or more near-miss sleepy accidents. Analyses showed that subjects who reported at least one near-miss sleepy accident were 1.13 times as likely to have reported at least one actual accident as subjects reporting no near-miss sleepy accidents. In addition, the summary Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) score had an independent association with having a near-miss or actual accident. The authors conclude that sleepy near-misses may be dangerous precursors to an actual accident. The questionnaire used in the study is appended to the article.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/01618105
• Authors:
  • Powell, Nelson B
  • Schechtman, Kenneth B
  • Riley, Robert W
  • Guilleminault, Christian
  • Chiang, Rayleigh Ping-Ying
  • Weaver, Edward M
• Publication Date: 2007

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: Appendices; References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 331-342
• Serial:
  • Sleep
  • Volume: 30
  • Issue Number: 3
  • Publisher: Oxford University Press
  • ISSN: 0161-8105
  • EISSN: 1550-9109
  • Serial URL: https://academic.oup.com/sleep

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Behavior; Crashes; Daytime crashes; Fatigue (Physiological condition); Near crashes; Prevention; Questionnaires; Risk assessment; Self describing data; Sleep disorders
• Identifier Terms: Epworth Sleepiness Scale
• Uncontrolled Terms: Sleepiness
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors; Security and Emergencies; I83: Accidents and the Human Factor;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01054274
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jul 25 2007 7:54AM