Abstract
A sample of 1518 Australian drivers from the Australian State of New South Wales and the neighbouring Australian Capital Territory took part in the study. The participants’ experiences with the signs of sleepiness were reasonably extensive. A number of the early signs of sleepiness (e.g., yawning, frequent eye blinks) were related with continuing to drive while sleepy, with the more advanced signs of sleepiness (e.g., difficulty keeping eyes open, dreamlike state of consciousness) associated with having a sleep-related close call. The individual factors associated with using a roadside sleepiness countermeasure included age (being older), education (tertiary level), difficulties getting to sleep, not continuing to drive while sleepy, and having experienced many signs of sleepiness.
The results suggest that these participants have a reasonable awareness and experience with the signs of driver sleepiness. Factors related to previous experiences with sleepiness were associated with implementing a roadside countermeasure. Nonetheless, the high proportions of drivers performing sleepy driving behaviours suggest that concerted efforts are needed with road safety campaigns regarding the dangers of driving while sleepy.
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From the full-text paper:
“Overall, this study has shown that a concerning proportion of drivers (69.83%) have continued to drive while sleepy in the last five years”.
Data indicated that in the past 5 years, ~17% of drivers reported having had a sleep-related close call and ~2.5% a sleep-related crash.
“At the multivariate level, three signs of sleepiness were associated with having a sleep-related close call. These were, difficulty keeping eyes open, difficulty concentrating on driving, and dream-like state of consciousness. Difficulty keeping eyes open was the sign of sleepiness with the largest relationship with having a sleep-related close call, followed by dreamlike state of consciousness, and difficulty concentrating on driving”.
“Overall, the three most commonly used countermeasures were turning up/on the radio/stereo, followed by opening the window, and stopping the vehicle and getting out of the car. These prevalence rates are somewhat concerning, as two of the three most commonly used countermeasures were the least effective countermeasures for reducing sleepiness”.
More effective countermeasures (napping and caffeine consumption) were used by just 9.2% and 8.3% of participants, respectively. In this Australian sample, napping and caffeine was lower than what has been found in international data (Sweden: napping 18%, caffeine 45% or Canada 14.80% napping and caffeine 29.50%). This is likely the result of multiple reasons.
Use of countermeasures were associated with the experience of a driver, such that age (being older) is associated with higher rates of implementing a roadside sleepiness countermeasure. Further, the authors refer to research highlighting that older drivers are more likely to stop driving and use more effective sleepiness countermeasures.
The participants were found to have a reasonable awareness and experience with the signs of driver sleepiness. It’s said that factors relating to their previous experience with sleepiness were linked to implementing a roadside countermeasure
“having experienced more of the signs of sleepiness was related to use of a roadside countermeasure. This result is an encouraging result for road safety, as it suggests that a proportion of drivers can self-regulate their sleepiness by ceasing driving after perceiving their heightened level of sleepiness and employ a roadside sleepiness countermeasure”.
Authors: Watling, C.N., Armstrong, K.A., & Radun, I. (2015). Accident Analysis & Prevention, 85:22–29.
Study link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2015.08.022
Link to the LinkedIn article: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/examining-signs-driver-sleepiness-usage-associations-ben-hutchinson
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