The Road Safety Monitor 2004: Drowsy Driving

The Road Safety Monitor is an annual public opinion survey by the Traffic Injury Research Foundation (TIRF) that takes the pulse of the nation on key road safety issues by means of a comprehensive telephone survey of a random, representative sample of Canadian drivers. The results from the fourth edition of the Road Safety Monitor have been released in a series of reports that cover several key issues – the present report focuses on drowsy driving. Some findings include: (1) 57% of Canadian drivers believe drowsy driving is a serious or very serious problem. (2) Over half of them report driving when tired or fatigued, at least occasionally. (3) More importantly, one in five Canadian drivers -- an estimated 4.1 million -- said they have nodded off or fallen asleep at least once while driving in the past 12 months. (4) Falling asleep at the wheel varies as a function of age – 35% of drivers aged 20-24 reported that they had done so. (5) Male drivers are more likely than female drivers to report having nodded off at the wheel. (6) Falling asleep at the wheel most commonly occurs late at night and during the afternoon. (7) Drivers who report nodding off while driving are also more likely to report getting less than 8 hours sleep per night, to rate the quality of their sleep as “poor”, and to experience greater daytime sleepiness. (8) The most commonly reported action to help drivers remain alert was “pulling over to take a break or have a nap”. Other tactics included: open a window; drink coffee; turn the radio on loud; and change drivers.