Survey Shows Teens Reporting Less Than 8 Hours of Sleep...

Are Twice As Likely To Fall Asleep at the Wheel

I got this from one of our concerned parents in our teen driver program. As always, I appreciate the articles many of you send me to review. They really help keep me and other parents educated.

Teens who get less than eight hours of sleep per night on average are twice as likely to say they have fallen asleep at the wheel (20 percent) than are teens who report getting an average of eight or more hours of sleep per night (10 percent), according to a new Liberty Mutual Insurance and Students Against Destructive Decisions survey. The national survey of 3,580 students in grades 10, 11, and 12 also found that 36 percent of teens often drive to school in the morning when drowsy. "The new survey reminds teens and parents that road safety begins with a good night's sleep," said Dave Melton, director of Transportation Technical Consulting Services at the Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety in Hopkinton, Mass. Melton said the survey findings are significant, given that 82 percent of teen drivers report that their main reason for driving is to get to school. "As parents we tend to equate safe teen driving with sober driving, but fatigue should be an equal cause for concern," said Melton. "Together we need to raise awareness of the risk factors and symptoms of drowsy driving in our communities and schools to ensure our children are getting the rest they need and provide them with the tools to know what to do if they are on the road and tired".

The survey also provided a broad view of teen driving habits and the factors that are likely to affect whether a teen driver falls asleep at the wheel. For example: Teen boys (29 percent) are more likely than teen girls (24 percent) to say they feel safe driving alone when they are tired; yet teen boys (20 percent) are more likely than teen girls (11 percent) to fall asleep at the wheel.

Teens who have had a license for less than a year are more likely to fall asleep in the morning (31 percent); the reverse is true for more experienced teen drivers, as 55 percent of teens who have been licensed for more than a year say they are most likely to fall asleep at the wheel late at night.

Source: Libertly Mutual/SADD