Issue Date: May 11, 2008

Dozing off while driving is a deadly problem.

Sleep-related accidents are most common in the early morning and midafternoon

Sleepy drivers are not just a minor traffic hazard.

"Drowsy drivers are just as dangerous as drunken drivers," says Darrel Drobnich, acting CEO of the National Sleep Foundation. But only in the last 15 years have studies shown the perils of sleep deprivation on the road.

Driving while drowsy nearly triples the odds of being in a crash, the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety concluded in a recent study. It found that sleepy drivers are as big a risk on roads as speeders and a greater risk than aggressive or inattentive drivers.

The research was conducted by analyzing the data collected as part of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's study of drivers of 100 cars equipped with video recorders and electronic sensors. It found that drowsiness was a contributing factor in one of every five crashes and near crashes over a period of about a year.

About 100,000 police-reported crashes are due to driver fatigue every year, the government estimates. But that number is considered a vast underestimate because it's difficult to prove that sleepiness causes an accident.

Nearly 37% of drivers say they have fallen asleep at the wheel at least once, a 2002 Gallup Poll conducted for the NHTSA found.

Sleep-related accidents are most common in the early morning (midnight to 6 a.m.) and midafternoon, when natural body rhythms make people sleepiest. They occur most often on highways and frequently result in more serious injuries than other accidents because drivers who fall asleep at the wheel don't try to avoid hitting vehicles or other objects.

Young drivers are most commonly involved in these crashes, the AAA Foundation says, with one study showing that young drivers are more than four times as likely to be involved in such accidents as drivers over the age of 30. Others who are likely to be sleep-deprived, such as shift workers and business travelers, are at higher risk of being in such crashes, too.

Drobnich believes the problem of sleep-deprived drivers may be getting worse, thanks in part to the nation's 24/7 culture. With computers and cellphones allowing so much work to be done outside offices, he says, "technology is interfering with people's sleep."

Blasting the radio or rolling down a window won't do much if you're sleepy, experts say. Caffeine can help, but it often takes a half-hour for it to have an effect. "The only real cure is taking a nap," says Peter Kissinger, head of the AAA Foundation.

-- Rochelle Sharpe