Horne JA, Reyner LA
Sleep Research Laboratory, Loughborough University, Leicestershire, UK.
J Sleep Res. 1995 Dec;4(S2):23-29. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2869.1995.tb00222.x.
Falling asleep at the wheel accounts for a sizeable number of vehicle accidents under monotonous driving conditions. The risk of driver death and serious injury is high. Circadian factors are profound and seem to be of equal (if not more) importance to the duration of the drive. Unfortunately, only the latter tends to be built into legislation. Young adults are the most likely to have these accidents, especially in the early morning, whereas older adults may be more vulnerable in the early afternoon. Drivers falling asleep are unlikely to recollect having done so, but they are aware of the precursory state of feeling sleepy, as normal sleep does not occur spontaneously without warning. Self-awareness of sleepiness is a better method for alerting the driver than in-car automatic devices. Car simulator studies show high inter-correlations between driving performance, EEG measures of drowsiness and self-assessments of sleepiness. Putative countermeasures to sleepiness during continued driving (for example cold air, playing car radio) have to be substantiated. The only safe countermeasure is to stop driving. At this point, a nap and/or coffee (caffeine) can be effective. Exercise is of little use. More driver education is needed about the dangers of driving whilst sleepy.
在单调的驾驶条件下，驾车时睡着导致了相当数量的车辆事故。司机死亡和受重伤的风险很高。昼夜节律因素影响很大，而且对于驾驶时长似乎具有同等（甚至更大）的重要性。不幸的是，立法中往往只考虑了后者。年轻人最容易发生这类事故，尤其是在清晨，而老年人可能在午后早些时候更容易出现这种情况。睡着的司机不太可能记得自己睡着了，但他们能意识到困倦的先兆状态，因为正常睡眠不会毫无预兆地突然发生。对困倦的自我认知比车内自动装置更能有效地提醒司机。汽车模拟器研究表明，驾驶表现、脑电图测量的困倦程度与困倦的自我评估之间存在高度相关性。对于持续驾驶期间困倦的假定对策（例如冷空气、播放汽车收音机）必须得到证实。唯一安全的对策是停止驾驶。此时，小睡一会儿和/或喝咖啡（咖啡因）可能会有效。运动几乎没什么用。需要对司机进行更多关于困倦驾驶危险性的教育。
