Facts on Drowsy Driving
From Winter 1997Volume III, Number 3
It is difficult to determine how many crashes are due to sleepiness. Based on police crash report data, NHTSA estimates that about 100,000 crashes and 1,500 fatalities each year result from drivers falling asleep at the wheel. About a million crashes annually--one-sixth of all crashes--can be attributed to driver inattention or lapses of attention. Sleepiness increases the likelihood of such lapses. A Gallup poll conducted for the National Sleep Foundation reported that 31 percent of adults said they had fallen asleep at the wheel and 4 percent had had a crash they attributed to fatigue. Such polls indicate police crash reports may significantly underreport the extent of fatigue-related crashes.
Young people - This group tends to stay up late, sleep too little, and drive frequently at night. In one North Carolina study, 55 percent of fall-asleep crashes involved drivers 25 years old or younger. Seventy-eight percent were male.
Shift workers - Twenty-five million American are rotating shift workers who often work at night. Studies suggest that 20 to 30 percent of shift workers have had a fatigue-related driving mishap within the last year.
Commercial drivers - This group is at risk because of the number of miles they drive and because many of them drive at night.
People with undiagnosed sleep disorders - Chronic insomnia, sleep apnea, and narcolepsy affect approximately 30 million Americans. Most people with sleep disorders remain undiagnosed and untreated.
This summary was adapted, with permission, from the National Sleep Foundation's "Drowsy Driving Fact Sheet" and the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety's Wake Up! brochure.
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Revised: January 7, 1997
