Tiredness to blame in up to one third of fatal car crashes

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Fatigue and dozing off behind the wheel greatly increase the risk of a fatal car crash.
      This finding was made by University of Helsinki Department of Neurology Docent Markku Partinen, who analysed the data collected by accident investigation boards in the years 1991 - 2000. This data covered 2,710 fatal car accidents. Partinen examined the 514 drivers in 240 accidents more closely.
      According to the study, tiredness or falling asleep behind the wheel are directly linked to one in five fatal accidents on the roads. However, Partinen says that the share of fatigue could be as high as thirty percent, and when taking into account tired drivers who are also slightly under the influence, the share rises above one third.
      "Many of the accidents caused by drunken drivers are a consequence of tiredness, as the combination of alcohol and a lack of sleep adds to the risk of dozing off while at the wheel", Partinen explains.
     
After a short night of sleep, even a small amount of alcohol increases the risk of winding up in a serious car crash. Tiredness does not always strike at night-time: drivers are prone to be sleepy between two and five p.m. A period of sixteen hours without sleep affects driving capability in the same way as a 0.5 per mille blood alcohol level.
      The most typical events in accidents that are a consequence of tiredness are that the driver dozes off, makes a false observation about an oncoming vehicle, or steers the car in the wrong direction.
      Accidents of these types accounted for over 15 percent of the fatal crashes in the study. Over half of the drivers in the crashes had eaten less than three hours previously.
      In their own assessments, the accidents investigation boards concluded that tiredness was to blame in 16 percent of the fatal crashes in 1991 - 2000.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  HS survey: Almost a third of young men admit to having driven under influence of alcohol (24.5.2004)
  Ministry of Transport to investigate fatal car crashes from past two weekends (18.5.2004)

Helsingin Sanomat