Sleep-Short Drivers Worse than
Drink-Drive Drivers!

Sleep deprivation is a major cause of motor vehicle accidents, and it can impair the human brain as much as alcohol can.

Coren tested drivers after they had been awake for one hour beyond their 'normal' bedtime. Their thinking processes and reaction times were worse than a control group who had drunk more than the UK drink/drive limit for alcohol consumption.

In countries like the UK, where the clocks are changed by one hour in the summer, car insurance accident claims rise by 25% in the first four days following the one-hour sleep loss. Out of all UK motor vehicle accidents, 25% of drivers admit to feeling sleepy prior to their accident. Add to that people not admitting drowsiness for fear of self-incrimination and the drivers who did not live to tell the tale, and the effect of sleep loss may be a more serious contributor to accidents even than alcohol.

Between 1989 and 1993, it has been estimated that an average of 1544 people were killed annually in the US as a result of sleep deprived driving.

Sleep deprivation has been proven to affect driving ability in three areas:

1. It impairs coordination.
2. It causes longer reaction times.
3. It impairs judgment.