Horne J A, Reyner L A, Barrett P R
Sleep Research Centre, Loughborough University, Loughborough, Leicestershire LE11 3TU, UK.
Occup Environ Med. 2003 Sep;60(9):689-92. doi: 10.1136/oem.60.9.689.
To assess whether low blood alcohol concentrations (BACs), at around half the UK legal driving limit, and undetectable by police roadside breathalysers, further impair driving already affected by sleepiness, particularly in young men, who are the most "at risk" group of drivers for having sleep related crashes.
Twelve healthy young men drove for two hours in the afternoon, in an instrumented car on a simulated motorway. In a repeated measures, counterbalanced design, they were given alcohol or placebo under conditions of normal sleep or prior sleep restriction. Measurements were: driving impairment (lane drifting), subjective sleepiness, and EEG measures of sleepiness.
Whereas sleep restriction and alcohol each caused a significant deterioration in all indices, the combined alcohol and sleep restriction further and significantly worsened lane drifting (which typifies sleep related crashes). This combined effect was also reflected to a significant extent in the EEG, but not with subjective sleepiness. That is, alcohol did not significantly increase subjective sleepiness in combination with sleep loss when compared with sleep loss alone.
Modest, and apparently "safe" levels of alcohol intake exacerbate driving impairment due to sleepiness. The sleepy drivers seemed not to have realised that alcohol had increased their sleepiness to an extent that was clearly reflected by a greater driving impairment and in the EEG.
评估血液酒精浓度（BAC）处于英国法定驾驶限制的一半左右，且警察路边呼气酒精检测仪无法检测到时，是否会进一步损害已经因困倦而受影响的驾驶能力，尤其是在年轻男性中，他们是因与睡眠相关的撞车事故而最“危险”的驾驶人群体。
12名健康的年轻男性在下午乘坐一辆装有仪器的汽车在模拟高速公路上驾驶两小时。采用重复测量、平衡设计，让他们在正常睡眠或先前睡眠受限的情况下饮用酒精或安慰剂。测量指标包括：驾驶能力损害（车道偏移）、主观困倦程度以及困倦程度的脑电图测量。
虽然睡眠受限和饮酒各自都会导致所有指标显著恶化，但饮酒与睡眠受限共同作用会使车道偏移（这是与睡眠相关撞车事故的典型表现）进一步且显著恶化。这种联合效应在脑电图中也有很大程度的体现，但在主观困倦程度方面没有体现。也就是说，与单独睡眠不足相比，饮酒与睡眠不足共同作用时并没有显著增加主观困倦程度。
适度且明显“安全”的酒精摄入量会加剧因困倦导致的驾驶能力损害。困倦的驾驶员似乎没有意识到酒精已将他们的困倦程度增加到了一个在更大的驾驶能力损害以及脑电图中都明显体现出来的程度。
