Revised estimates of the U.S. drowsy driver crash problem size based on general estimates system case reviews

Knipling, Ronald R.; Wang, Jing-Shiarn

Affiliations

¹Office of Crash Avoidance Research, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ,Washington, D.C.

²Information Management Consultants, Inc., McLean, Virginia

Abstract

A revised estimate of the incidence of crashes involving driver drowsiness/fatigue is provided based on analysis of General Estimates System (GES) data and a review of 562 GES cases from 1993. Cases selected for review had coded characteristics suggesting a "Drift-Out-Of-Lane" scenario but were not cited as drowsiness-related in GES. The case review identified some "definite," "probable," and "possible" drowsy driver crashes not captured by the normal GES data coding process. It indicated that drowsiness/fatigue is a discernible causal factor in 1.2 to 1.6% of Police Accident Reports, as compared to the baseline GES estimate of 0.9%.

Cited By (3)

Year	Entry
1996	Wang J-S, Knipling RR, Goodman MJ. The role of driver inattention in crashes: new statistics from the 1995 crashworthiness data system. In: 40th Annual Proceedings, Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine (AAAM). October 7-9, 1996; Vancouver, BC.377-392.
1999	Risser MR, Ware JC. Driving simulation with EEG monitoring in normals and obstructive sleep apnea patients. In: 43rd Annual Proceedings, Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine (AAAM). September 20-21, 1999; Barcelon, Spain.317-328.
1996	Knipling RR, Wang J-S, Kanianthra JN. Current NHTSA drowsy driver R&D. In: Proceedings of the 15th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV). May 13-16, 1996; Melbourne, Australia.366-374.