|
Most people are well-aware of the danger posed by
drunk drivers, but tired drivers may be an even more
dangerous problem on the road today, as a tired driver's response
times and accuracy may be even more impaired than someone who has had
a few drinks.
Researchers studied 39 subjects from the transportation
industry and the army
They measured response times and accuracy of subjects
after being sleep deprived for up to 28 hours and also after consuming
alcohol up to a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.1%, which is the
limit in most states to be considered "intoxicated".
After 17-19 hours without sleep,
performance on some tests was equivalent or worse than that at a BAC of
0.05%, which is the limit in most states for being considered
"ability impaired".
According to the authors:
Response speeds were up
to 50% slower for some tests and accuracy measures were significantly
poorer than at this level of alcohol. After longer periods without sleep,
performance reached levels equivalent to the maximum alcohol dose given
to subjects (BAC of 0.1%) ... .
To go seventeen hours without sleep may sound like
a lot until you consider that if you wake up at 6 AM you will be up 17
hours by 11 PM. Taking into account that many people often go out late
at night to movies, bars, dancing, etc., they could easily be up well
over 19 hours, not to mention the fact that they may have had a few alcoholic
drinks as well. Add to this the fact that many medications, even non-prescription
ones, can cause drowsiness (see Driving
While Medicated).
"These findings reinforce the evidence that
the fatigue of sleep deprivation is an important factor likely to compromise
performance of speed and accuracy of the kind needed for safety on the
road and in other industrial settings," the authors conclude.
| 