NEW YORK STATE'S COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH TO ADDRESSING DROWSY DRIVING

In the U.S., scarce resources in highway safety are allocated largely in accordance with the perceived effects of specific problems on highway crashes. Thus the fact that sleepiness related driving has not been a major focus of highway safety initiatives aimed at the general motoring public may result, at least in part, from analyses of crash data that suggest that sleepiness related driving represents a relatively low crash risk, when compared with other risky behaviors such as alcohol-impaired driving or speeding. Over the past few years there has been a growing interest in the U.S. in the role of sleepiness and other forms of inattention in highway crashes. A primary component of the government response to this concern has been the promulgation and enforcement of federal hours-of-service regulations. This paper focuses on the role of the states in combating drowsy driving and describes an innovative state program initiated by New York State.