Auto Club Cautions Motorists to Avoid Drowsy Driving During Holidays

22 December 1999

Auto Club Cautions Motorists to Avoid Drowsy Driving During Holidays; Long Hours, Little Sleep Contribute to Drowsy Driving Crashes, Study Shows

    LOS ANGELES--Dec. 21, 1999--Falling asleep at the wheel can bring a tragic end to holiday travel plans, warns the Automobile Club of Southern California.
    Last year, more than 1,900 Californians were killed or injured in car crashes because they couldn't stay awake while driving. This year, at least three crashes in Los Angeles have been associated with falling asleep while driving, according to the Auto Club.
    Last March, two teenage girls were killed and two others were injured in Walnut when they lost control of their car while driving home from an all-night party. Investigators suspect that the driver fell asleep at the wheel.
    Also in March, a truck driver believed to have fallen asleep at the wheel plowed into a California Highway Patrol officer who had stopped a suspected drunk driver along the Foothill Freeway. In April, a man died in a crash on the Antelope Valley Freeway after he apparently fell asleep at the wheel of his truck.
    "Don't mix sleeping and driving," cautioned Arline Dillman, Ph.D., traffic safety manager for the Auto Club. "Drivers should get a full night's rest or at least six hours of sleep before getting behind the wheel, because those who are even slightly tired may not be able to react to road danger. Use extra caution if you must drive during the early morning hours because this is the most dangerous time for drowsiness."
    Drivers need to watch for these danger signs:



-- Eyes closing by themselves
-- Difficulty with paying attention
-- Frequent yawning
-- Swerving in lane

    A new study released today by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety shows that drowsy driving crashes are strongly related to sleeping less than six hours per night, being awake for 20 hours or longer, working more than one job and/or working night shifts and frequent driving between midnight and 6 a.m.
    In the first-ever study of its kind, the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety and the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center studied hundreds of sleep and fatigue-related car crashes to identify the driver behavior that caused them.
    "Previous studies about drowsiness and driving were done in a laboratory," said David K. Willis, president of the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. "This is the first time anyone has looked at real-world crashes to see what happens. And with many drivers about to travel for the holidays, this issue is particularly timely."
    The study used police crash reports and driver records to identify and interview 1,400 drivers. The sample included four groups: drivers who fell asleep, drivers who were fatigued, drivers who crashed for non-sleep reasons and a control group of drivers who had not had a crash in three years.
    The researchers administered a detailed questionnaire about the drivers' work schedules, sleep habits, quality of sleep, amount of driving and the circumstances surrounding their crash. Drivers were also asked questions to assess their present levels of sleepiness.
    Large differences were found among the groups. Sleep and fatigue crash drivers had been awake longer and had slept less -- just a fifth of them reported getting eight or more hours of sleep before the crash, compared with nearly half of the control group.
    Drivers in sleep and fatigue crashes were also more likely to try to deal with their drowsiness once they were on the road, rather than by planning ahead and taking precautions such as getting enough sleep or using caffeine.
    The study indicated that many drivers do not know how sleepy they are. Around half the drivers in sleep-related crashes said they did not feel even moderately drowsy before they crashed. "People need to think about sleep even when they don't feel tired," Willis said. "Driving with your eyes closed can kill you."
    If drivers experience any danger signs, they could fall asleep at any time. The Auto Club recommends three basic solutions -- sleep, exercise and caffeine: take a nap -- even 20 minutes will help; exercise after waking up helps increase alertness -- try running or walking while waving your arms; and consume caffeine -- it can provide an extra boost.
    The Auto Club offers the following additional recommendations for avoiding drowsy driving:



--   Packing should be completed early enough before the trip to allow
     time for a normal night's sleep.
--   Try to set a limit of 300-400 miles of driving per day to limit
     fatigue.
--   Avoid drugs that may cause drowsiness.
--   When driving, keep eyes moving -- from the left side of the road
     to the right. Focus on an object that is near, then on an object
     that is far.
--   Stay alert. Decide ahead of time how to react to possible dangers
     or driving situations.
--   Stop at regular intervals. Get out of the car every two hours or
     so. Run in place, do jumping jacks, breathe deeply.

The Automobile Club of Southern California, the largest affiliate of the AAA, has been serving members since 1900. Today, the Auto Club's members benefit by the organization's emergency road service, insurance services, travel agency, financial products, automotive pricing, buying and financing programs, automotive testing and analysis, trip planning services, highway and transportation safety programs and legislative advocacy.
Information about these products and services is available on the Auto Club's Web site at www.aaa-calif.com.