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. 2008 Dec 15;4(6):533-5.

Adolescent sleep, school start times, and teen motor vehicle crashes

Fred Danner  1 , Barbara Phillips
Affiliations

Adolescent sleep, school start times, and teen motor vehicle crashes

Fred Danner et al. J Clin Sleep Med. .

Abstract

Study objectives: To assess the effects of delayed high-school start times on sleep and motor vehicle crashes.

Methods: The sleep habits and motor vehicle crash rates of adolescents from a single, large, county-wide, school district were assessed by questionnaire before and after a 1-hour delay in school start times.

Results: Average hours of nightly sleep increased and catch-up sleep on weekends decreased. Average crash rates for teen drivers in the study county in the 2 years after the change in school start time dropped 16.5%, compared with the 2 years prior to the change, whereas teen crash rates for the rest of the state increased 7.8% over the same time period.

Conclusions: Later school start times may both increase the sleep of adolescents and decrease their risk of motor vehicle crashes.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Hours of sleep per night by grade level and year.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Hours of extra sleep on weekend nights by grade level and year.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Number of motor vehicle crashes per 1000 drivers aged 17 or 18 years in the study county and state.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Number of motor vehicle crashes per 1000 drivers aged 17 or 18 years during the 2 years before and 2 years after a change in school start times.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

  • Driving drowsy.
    Landrigan CP. Landrigan CP. J Clin Sleep Med. 2008 Dec 15;4(6):536-7. J Clin Sleep Med. 2008. PMID: 19110881 Free PMC article. No abstract available.

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