A new web site, developed by Cornell health educators and the Drowsy Driving Coalition of Tompkins County, offers up-to-date prevention information, including simple steps that can save lives when drivers start to feel sleepy. The web address is www.drowsydriving.cornell.edu.
"While any driver can be at risk for drowsy driving, adults between the ages of 18 and 26 are in one of the highest risk groups because they tend to stay up late, sleep too little and drive at night," said James B. Maas, professor of psychology at Cornell and a nationally known expert in the problems of sleep deprivation. "Rotating shift workers, especially those who drive home from work after the night shift, are also more likely to experience fatigue-related driving mishaps."
The web site is designed to help users:
Learn more about the prevalence of drowsy-driving crashes through personal stories, traffic statistics and survey research with college students.
Identify conditions that will increase the risk for driver drowsiness and how these can be prevented.
Review some surprising facts that underscore why sleep matters.
Find other online resources related to sleep, drowsy driving and traffic safety.
"The 'Smart Drivers Brake for Sleep' web site is a much-needed educational tool to alert students and others to the national danger of drowsy driving," said Maas, the author of the book Power Sleep (HarperCollins, 1999), who maintains another educational web site at www.powersleep.org/powersleep.htm. "Driving drowsy is the same as driving drunk. Most students are carrying a huge 'sleep debt' and can go from wakefulness to sleep within seconds."
