Short sleep duration and long spells of driving are associated with the occurrence of Japanese drivers' rear-end collisions and single-car accidents

Abstract

Sleepiness and fatigue are important risk factors for traffic accidents. However, the relation between the accident type and lack of sleep as well as spells of driving has not been examined sufficiently. This study aimed to clarify that short sleep duration and long spells of driving are more associated with rear-end collisions and single-car accidents as compared with accidents of other types in cases of people who cause accidents. After removing drunken driving as a cause of accidents, 1772 parties involved in accidents were questioned. The quantities of rear-end collisions and single-car accidents were, respectively, 240 and 293. Logistic regression analysis showed that short nocturnal sleep (<6 h) and 10-min increments of spells of driving were significantly associated not only with rear-end collisions but also with single-car accidents as compared with accidents of other types. Furthermore, younger age (<or=25 years old) and nighttime (21:00-06:00 h) driving were significantly associated with single-car accidents as compared with accidents of other types. To prevent such accidents, countermeasures must be considered in light of the characteristics of drivers involved in each type of accident described above.