Young drivers who continue to drive while sleepy: What are the associated sleep‐ and driving‐related factors?

Abstract

Crashes due to sleepiness account for a substantial proportion of road crash incidents. The purpose of the current study was to examine several sleep‐related factors and driving‐related factors for their association with self‐reports of continuing to drive while sleepy. In total 257 young drivers aged 18–25 years completed an online survey that assessed factors such as sleep quality, sleep duration and consistency, excessive daytime sleepiness, experiences with sleepiness and their driving‐related behaviours. The results demonstrate that being older, having a perceived ability to overcome sleepiness, committing more highway code violations and having experienced a sleep‐related close call were positively associated with an increased likelihood of continuing to drive while sleepy. The obtained results highlight the acceptance of risky driving behaviours among some younger drivers. Younger drivers’ risky driving behaviour is certainly a road safety concern given the impairment associated with sleepiness and their over‐representation in road crash incidents.

Microneedle Array Electrode-Based Wearable EMG System for Detection of Driver Drowsiness through Steering Wheel Grip

“…Another factor associated with a road accident is risky driving behaviors by young drivers. Watling studied the behavior of young drivers who continue to drive while drowsy [ 5 ]. It was reported that a large number of drivers (70–73%) choose to drive even though they were aware of their increased level of drowsiness.…”

Psychometric properties of the Attitudes and Beliefs about Sleepy Driving Scale in Chinese drivers and its relationships with driving behaviours

“…However, only a few studies have examined the relationships between attitudes towards sleepy driving and risky driving behaviours and traffic accidents. Studies found that drivers who reported more favourable attitudes towards sleepy driving behaviour were more likely to engage in sleepy driving behaviours [ 16 , 17 ]. A second study found that participants thought sleepy driving behaviour was less dangerous than driving with a high blood alcohol concentration, and drivers who believed that sleepy driving behaviour was less dangerous were more likely to perform the behaviour [ 4 ].…”

“…Despite the associations between drivers’ attitudes towards sleepy driving and risky driving behaviours [ 16 , 17 ], few studies have explored safe or prosocial driving behaviours and their associations with attitudes towards road safety. Prosocial driving behaviour is a safe driving behaviour that protects the well-being of road users [ 18 ].…”

“…One study found that the more objective the attitude towards sleepy driving among female drivers was, the more prosocial driving behaviour they have [ 20 ]. Regarding age, compared to older drivers, younger drivers reported more positive attitudes towards sleepy and drunk driving behaviours, and younger drivers were also more likely to report exhibiting sleepy driving behaviours than older drivers [ 16 , 21 ]. However, other studies found that age is negatively related to drivers’ attitudes towards sleepy driving [ 22 ].…”

Restless legs syndrome, sleep over the lifespan, sleep in the severely ill, shift‐work and sleep loss

“…Another article under this heading (Watling, 2020) looked at young drivers who continue to drive while sleepy. The obtained results did highlight the acceptance of risky driving behaviours among some younger drivers compared with the rest of the older study population, with younger drivers having a subjectively perceived ability to overcome sleepiness, committing more highway code violations and already having experienced a sleep‐related close call.…”