A combination of these factors increases crash risk substantially.
Sleepiness leads to accidents because it impairs human performances that are critical to safe driving.
People can use physical activity and dietary stimulants to cope with sleep loss and mask their level of sleepiness. However, when they sit still to perform repetitive tasks like driving, sleep comes quickly.
Sleepiness leads to:
The Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) is an eight-item, self-report measure that quantifies individuals’ sleepiness by their tendency to fall asleep ’in your usual way of life in recent times’ in situations like sitting and reading, watching TV, and sitting in a car that is stopped for traffic.
People with a score between 10 to14 are considered moderately sleepy, whereas a score of 15 or greater indicates severe sleepiness.
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