Pack A I, Pack A M, Rodgman E, Cucchiara A, Dinges D F, Schwab C W
Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania Medical Center, Philadelphia, USA.
Accid Anal Prev. 1995 Dec;27(6):769-75. doi: 10.1016/0001-4575(95)00034-8.
While it has been known for some time that crashes can result from the driver falling asleep at the wheel, this issue has received less attention in traffic safety programs than the role of alcohol or speed of the vehicle. The present study was done to investigate the characteristics of crashes attributed to the driver being asleep. The study utilized the database at the Highway Safety Research Center at the University of North Carolina that is based on the uniform crash reporting system in that state. Over the years 1990-1992, inclusive, there were 4333 crashes in which the driver was judged to be asleep but not intoxicated. The crashes were primarily of the drive-off-the-road type (78% of the total) and took place at higher speeds (62% in excess of 50 mph). The fatality rate was of similar magnitude to that in alcohol-related crashes with fatalities in 1.4% of such crashes (alcohol crashes had fatalities in 2.1%). The crashes occurred primarily at two times of day--during the nighttime period of increased sleepiness (midnight to 7.00 a.m.) and during the mid-afternoon "siesta" time of increased sleepiness (3.00 p.m.). These crashes occurred predominately in young people. Fifty-five percent of these were in individuals 25 years of age or younger, with a peak age of occurrence at age 20 years. Sleepiness may play a role in crashes other than those attributed by the police to the driver being asleep. Determining the magnitude of this role is a challenge to the traffic safety community.
虽然人们早就知道驾驶员在方向盘上睡着会导致撞车事故，但在交通安全计划中，这个问题受到的关注比酒精或车辆速度的影响要少。本研究旨在调查因驾驶员睡着而导致的撞车事故的特征。该研究利用了北卡罗来纳大学公路安全研究中心基于该州统一撞车报告系统的数据库。在1990年至1992年（含）期间，共有4333起撞车事故，其中驾驶员被判定为睡着但未醉酒。这些撞车事故主要是驶离道路类型（占总数的78%），且发生时速度较高（62%超过每小时50英里）。死亡率与酒精相关撞车事故的死亡率相似，此类撞车事故中有1.4%导致死亡（酒精相关撞车事故中有2.1%导致死亡）。撞车事故主要发生在一天中的两个时段——夜间困倦加剧时段（午夜至上午7点）和午后困倦加剧的“午睡”时段（下午3点）。这些撞车事故主要发生在年轻人身上。其中55%发生在25岁及以下的人身上，发生事故的高峰年龄为20岁。困倦可能在撞车事故中起作用，而不仅仅是警方认定为驾驶员睡着导致的那些事故。确定这种作用的程度对交通安全界来说是一项挑战。
