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CNN Live Today

Sleepy Drivers Account for Many Accidents

Aired November 27, 2002 - 11:32   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: There is a new survey out that actually talks about driving while drowsy, and we know it's against common sense, but a lot of people do it because they're in a big hurry to get where they're going. We are talking about the National Sleep Foundation study. About half the adult drivers in the United States actually admit driving while sleepy or drowsy.
And CNN Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is here more with our daily dose of health news to talk a little bit more about that. Tell us a little bit more about the survey and what they found.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, what they found, as you said, is that 51 percent of Americans admit driving while drowsy, and we don't mean just sort of a little fatigue, we mean like head bobbing kind of drowsy. More than half of Americans admit to doing it. Let's take a look at some more statistics from that survey.

Seventeen percent of people in the survey admit they have fallen asleep at the wheel, obviously not a good thing. Two million people had accidents in the past year because they were drowsy. Men more likely than women to drive drowsy. So, in other words, driving drowsy can be just as bad as driving drunk.

LIN: You know, and that has happened to me before where you are in such a hurry, you have been on the road a long time, and you are almost there, and you start nodding off. So what should you do, and what should you not do?

COHEN: Well, here are some dos and don'ts. They sound pretty obvious, but they bear repeating because, obviously, people don't seem to pay attention to them.

Do take a nap. Again, sounds obvious, but only one out of five people in the survey said, Yes, when I get drowsy, I take a nap. Four out of five just apparently kept going and do drink coffee or some other caffeinated beverage. What the National Sleep Foundation recommends is stop, get a cup of coffee. It is going to take 30 minutes for that caffeine to get into your bloodstream, so take a nap during that 30 minutes. Then, when you wake up, you'll be fully caffeinated and ready to go.

Do not open the window or turn up the radio. You may think that it is helping, but experts say it actually doesn't help, and so it is really not worth doing, and you've tricked yourself into thinking it is helping, but it is really not helping.

LIN: Because you would think it would just keep you awake, that blast of cold air or singing to the radio.

COHEN: Right.

LIN: Doesn't work.

COHEN: And they found that it actually doesn't work.

LIN: So what is drowsy then? How do I know if I'm too drowsy -- short of nodding off, even before you are setting out on your trip?

COHEN: Right. I think sometimes people think that you have to have missed a night's sleep or been up driving for 18 hours in order to be drowsy, but in fact, this study showed -- or other studies have shown that when people sleep for just six to seven hours a night, in other words, get between six and seven hours of sleep, they are twice as likely to get into a crash as someone who has had eight or more hours of sleep. So just missing that one hour can really put you at a higher risk for having a crash.

LIN: Yes, and I think that is like the national average. I think most Americans get about six hours of sleep.

COHEN: Right. Most Americans are sleep deprived. So, it is not surprising that too many of them drive drowsy.

LIN: Good excuse to take a nap. I'm all for that.

COHEN: That is right. Take a nap. There you go.

LIN: All right. Thanks, Elizabeth. Have a good Thanksgiving.

COHEN: Thanks, you too.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired November 27, 2002 - 11:32   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: There is a new survey out that actually talks about driving while drowsy, and we know it's against common sense, but a lot of people do it because they're in a big hurry to get where they're going. We are talking about the National Sleep Foundation study. About half the adult drivers in the United States actually admit driving while sleepy or drowsy.
And CNN Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is here more with our daily dose of health news to talk a little bit more about that. Tell us a little bit more about the survey and what they found.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, what they found, as you said, is that 51 percent of Americans admit driving while drowsy, and we don't mean just sort of a little fatigue, we mean like head bobbing kind of drowsy. More than half of Americans admit to doing it. Let's take a look at some more statistics from that survey.

Seventeen percent of people in the survey admit they have fallen asleep at the wheel, obviously not a good thing. Two million people had accidents in the past year because they were drowsy. Men more likely than women to drive drowsy. So, in other words, driving drowsy can be just as bad as driving drunk.

LIN: You know, and that has happened to me before where you are in such a hurry, you have been on the road a long time, and you are almost there, and you start nodding off. So what should you do, and what should you not do?

COHEN: Well, here are some dos and don'ts. They sound pretty obvious, but they bear repeating because, obviously, people don't seem to pay attention to them.

Do take a nap. Again, sounds obvious, but only one out of five people in the survey said, Yes, when I get drowsy, I take a nap. Four out of five just apparently kept going and do drink coffee or some other caffeinated beverage. What the National Sleep Foundation recommends is stop, get a cup of coffee. It is going to take 30 minutes for that caffeine to get into your bloodstream, so take a nap during that 30 minutes. Then, when you wake up, you'll be fully caffeinated and ready to go.

Do not open the window or turn up the radio. You may think that it is helping, but experts say it actually doesn't help, and so it is really not worth doing, and you've tricked yourself into thinking it is helping, but it is really not helping.

LIN: Because you would think it would just keep you awake, that blast of cold air or singing to the radio.

COHEN: Right.

LIN: Doesn't work.

COHEN: And they found that it actually doesn't work.

LIN: So what is drowsy then? How do I know if I'm too drowsy -- short of nodding off, even before you are setting out on your trip?

COHEN: Right. I think sometimes people think that you have to have missed a night's sleep or been up driving for 18 hours in order to be drowsy, but in fact, this study showed -- or other studies have shown that when people sleep for just six to seven hours a night, in other words, get between six and seven hours of sleep, they are twice as likely to get into a crash as someone who has had eight or more hours of sleep. So just missing that one hour can really put you at a higher risk for having a crash.

LIN: Yes, and I think that is like the national average. I think most Americans get about six hours of sleep.

COHEN: Right. Most Americans are sleep deprived. So, it is not surprising that too many of them drive drowsy.

LIN: Good excuse to take a nap. I'm all for that.

COHEN: That is right. Take a nap. There you go.

LIN: All right. Thanks, Elizabeth. Have a good Thanksgiving.

COHEN: Thanks, you too.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com