In an accompanying editorial, Dr. William Dement of Stanford University said the findings reflected his belief that ''pervasive drowsy driving is an established fact in the United States. Numerous polls have found that up to 56 percent of the general public drives while drowsy.'' Almost one quarter of 18 to 29-year olds report they have fallen asleep at the wheel at some point during the past year, according to a new survey on sleep and fatigue conducted by the National Sleep Foundation. And half of U.S. adults admit to driving while they are tired. Reporting on the survey, Bloomberg said that the poll of 1,154 adults was taken in October and November 1999 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. Seventeen percent of those polled said they had fallen asleep while driving in the past year.
Sleepiness slows reaction time, decreases awareness and impairs judgment.
A surprising number of people are tired because they have a sleep disorder. The effects of driving drowsy mimic the effect of driving drunk. Coffee overcomes the effects of drowsiness while driving. I can tell when I'm going to fall asleep. I can't take naps.