Sleepiness ranks with alcohol in car crashes
Source: Agencies |
June 1, 2012, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
BEING sleepy behind the wheel is almost as dangerous as drinking and driving, according to a study from France, with drivers who were either drunk or sleepy at least twice as likely to cause a vehicle accident as their sober and well-rested counterparts.
Researchers under the direction of Nicholas Moore at Center Hospital at the University of Bordeaux analyzed information from 679 drivers admitted to a hospital in southwestern France for more than 24 hours because of a serious accident between 2007 and 2009.
"Sleepiness carried almost as much risk as alcohol ingestion," wrote the study's authors in a letter in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
The researchers used information from driver questionnaires and police reports to determine what contributed to the accidents. Drivers reported what medications they were on, their alcohol use and how sleepy they had been before the crash, while patient files provided information on blood-alcohol levels.
Most of the injured drivers were men. Over half were on a motorcycle, about one-third in a car and 10 percent on a bicycle during the accident.
The study found that being between 18 and 29 years old, driving a car, drinking alcohol and being sleepy were all tied to an increased risk of causing an accident.
Researchers under the direction of Nicholas Moore at Center Hospital at the University of Bordeaux analyzed information from 679 drivers admitted to a hospital in southwestern France for more than 24 hours because of a serious accident between 2007 and 2009.
"Sleepiness carried almost as much risk as alcohol ingestion," wrote the study's authors in a letter in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
The researchers used information from driver questionnaires and police reports to determine what contributed to the accidents. Drivers reported what medications they were on, their alcohol use and how sleepy they had been before the crash, while patient files provided information on blood-alcohol levels.
Most of the injured drivers were men. Over half were on a motorcycle, about one-third in a car and 10 percent on a bicycle during the accident.
The study found that being between 18 and 29 years old, driving a car, drinking alcohol and being sleepy were all tied to an increased risk of causing an accident.
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