Research using footage of everyday drivers in the United States has found that the percentage of crashes involving drowsiness is nearly eight times higher than federal estimates indicate, the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety has found.
According to the foundation, the difficulty in detecting drowsiness following a crash makes drowsy driving one of the most underreported traffic safety issues. It said that its new research provided an "unprecedented analysis of in-vehicle dashcam video from more than 700 crashes, confirming that the danger of drowsy driving soars above official estimates."
"Drowsy driving is a bigger traffic safety issue than federal estimates show," said Dr. David Yang, the foundation's executive director. "Drivers who don't get enough sleep are putting everyone on the road at risk. By conducting an in-depth analysis using video of everyday drivers, we can now better assess if a driver was fatigued in the moments leading up to a crash."
In the study, researchers examined video of drivers' faces in the three minutes leading up to a crash. Using a scientific measure linking the percentage of time a person's eyes were closed to their level of drowsiness, the researchers determined that 9.5 percent of all crashes and 10.8 percent of crashes resulting in significant property damage involved drowsiness. Federal estimates indicate drowsiness is a factor in only one to two percent of crashes.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that 35 percent of U.S. drivers sleep less than the recommended minimum of seven hours daily. In a recent related foundation survey, nearly all drivers (96 percent) said they view drowsy driving as a serious threat to their safety and a completely unacceptable behavior. However, 29 percent admitted to driving when they were so tired they had a hard time keeping their eyes open at some point in the past month.
"As many Americans struggle to balance their busy schedules, missing a few hours of sleep each day can often seem harmless," said Jake Nelson, director of Traffic Safety Advocacy and Research for the American Automobile Association ("AAA"). "But missing just two to three hours of sleep can more than quadruple your risk for a crash, which is the equivalent of driving drunk."