NHTSA, in conjunction with the National Center on Sleep Disorders Research, has created a program to help employers, Safe Communities coalitions, and other safety advocates address this problem. The first phase of the program, Preventing Drowsy Driving Among Shift Workers, includes an employer’s guide providing all the information necessary to plan and implement a workplace program to alert shift workers to the dangers of drowsy driving and improve their sleeping habits, six 15-minute PowerPoint training sessions, a video, brochures, posters, and a sleep tip card. Materials targeting college students and military personnel are under development. Materials can be downloaded or ordered from the NHTSA website at www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/drowsy_drivingI/index.html, or ordered by telephone at (888) 327-4236.

An important opportunity for Safe Communities programs to raise public awareness of drowsy driving is National Sleep Awareness Week (NSAW), which this year takes place March 26–April 1, 2001. NSAW, which is sponsored by the National Sleep Foundation and, this year, co-sponsored by NHTSA, is designed to raise awareness about the importance of regular sleep and the need to address sleep disorders. A tool kit is available for community organizations that would like to become involved in these activities. The National Sleep Foundation can also provide programs with a wealth of other materials on drowsy driving, sleep, and sleep disorders, including a PowerPoint presentation on the dangers of drowsy driving, and a public education brochure on drowsy driving, entitled Wake Up!. For more information, contact the National Sleep Foundation by telephone: (202) 347-3471; e-mail at NSF@sleepfoundation.org; WWW: www.sleepfoundation.org.