Increased crash risk for young drivers when tired

A new study by researchers at the University of Bologna in Italy suggests that young drivers are twice as likely to have a crash if they felt sleepy at the wheel or have had problems sleeping. The study of students found that 56% who'd been involved in at least one accident said they had driven despite feeling sleepy, compared with 35% of those who had not been in a crash. According to the UK motoring organisation the RAC, driver sleepiness is estimated to account for around 20% of accidents on major roads
May 2, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
RSSA new study by researchers at the 5410 University of Bologna in Italy suggests that young drivers are twice as likely to have a crash if they felt sleepy at the wheel or have had problems sleeping. The study of students found that 56% who'd been involved in at least one accident said they had driven despite feeling sleepy, compared with 35% of those who had not been in a crash.

According to the UK motoring organisation the 3443 RAC, driver sleepiness is estimated to account for around 20% of accidents on major roads in the UK and is responsible for around 300 deaths/year. For the study questionnaires were handed out to 339 student drivers. All the students were aged from 18 - 21, with an average age of 18.4 years, while 58% of those in the study were men. The researchers discovered that 19% of the students had problems sleeping and 64% felt sleepy during the day, while 40% drove despite being sleepy. In addition, 24% of those questioned said they had already crashed once, and 15% of those blamed tiredness for the accident.

The Italian study suggested that the students involved suffered from chronic sleep deprivation. Although they said they needed 9.2 hours of sleep every night, they actually only got an average of 7.3 hours on weeknights. Many of them then tried to 'catch up' during weekends. The study also found that men and smokers were three times more at risk of being involved in an accident. The authors suggest that the use of tobacco could reflect an unhealthy lifestyle, as well as a method of counteracting sleepiness.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • High crash risks for young drivers
    June 5, 2017
    Young drivers are more likely to be involved in fatal road crashes, according to new data from the US. A report produced by the AA Foundation for Traffic Safety shows that drivers aged 16-17 are four times more likely to be involved in a crash involving one or more fatalities than drivers aged 18 or over.
    Read More
  • Data shows young people face highest road fatality risk
    May 18, 2012
    The latest official data from the European Transport SafetyCommission (ETSC) shows that young people are amongst those facing the highest fatality risks while on the road in Europe. Some 140,000 young people aged 15-30 have lost their lives on Europe’s roads since 2001. Of these, 9,150 died in 2010. While this age group represents 20% of the population of the EU, the same group accounts for 30% of the total number of road deaths.
    Read More
  • Crash climb in Germany while KSI figures fall
    July 4, 2014
    Official data from the German Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) reveals that in 2013, the country had the highest number of crashes since reunification. In all some 2.4 million crashes were reported to police, an increase of 0.5% from the figures recorded for 2012. But while the number of crashes grew, the number of fatalities on German roads fell to 3,339, a drop of 7.3% from 2012. This is the lowest annual road fatality rate since the country commenced compiling official records in 1953. Meanwhile the
    Read More
  • UK drivers urged not to eat at wheel after alarming survey
    February 21, 2014
    UK drivers are being urged to take a break and enjoy their food away from their vehicles, as road safety charity Brake and Direct Line reveal more than six in ten (62%) have eaten at the wheel in the past year. Further alarming figures revealed that three in ten (29%) unwrapped food themselves at the wheel - a telling symptom, says Brake and Direct Line, of busy lifestyles putting lives at risk. Studies have suggested eating a meal at the wheel increases your risk of a devastating crash as much as talking
    Read More

Highlighted Content