STANFORD, Calif., March 1 (UPI) -- A study of 35,217 U.S. drivers found 1.3 percent reported at least one accident associated with being sleepy in the preceding three years.
However, near-miss accidents associated with sleepiness were reported in 18.3 percent of the sample -- 10.6 percent with one sleepy near-miss, 5.9 percent with two to three sleepy near-misses and 1.8 percent with four or more sleepy near-misses.
"This study indicates that near-miss sleepy accidents are common and dangerous," said study leader Dr. Nelson B. Powell of Stanford University.
"The near-miss sleepy accidents occur in 14 times more people than actual sleepy accidents, and the near-misses appear to predict who is at risk for any type of actual accidents in a dose-response fashion."
Drowsy driving is similar to driving under the influence, as sleepiness results in a slower reaction time, decreased awareness, impaired judgment and an increased risk of getting involved in an accident, resulting in unnecessary deaths or injuries to innocent people, according to Powell.
The study, published in the journal Sleep, found that sleepy near-misses may be dangerous precursors to an actual accident.
