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Coming in March 2000: Drowsy Driving Education Materials Targeting Shift Workers Wake Up and Get Some Sleep! Sick and tired of waking up sick and tired? There are many people who answer this question with a loud "YES!" As society becomes more of a "round-the-clock" operation, an increasing number of people are sleep deprived. The people who suffer the effects of sleep deprivation most intensely are shift workers – people who work to maintain 24-hour-a-day business operations such as factories, newspapers, hospitals, hotels and convenience stores. Being chronically sleepy is bad for a person's health and very dangerous when the sleepy driver is behind the wheel of a motor vehicle. Shift workers rank among the top three populations at highest risk for drowsy driving traffic crashes because they are working against their biological clocks or "circadian rhythm." Because they have to sleep when their bodies are telling them to be awake, and be awake when their bodies are telling them to sleep, they frequently miss things they would normally respond to, resulting in careless and even dangerous errors at work, at home, and while driving. Late night and early morning drive times are the most hazardous, with many crashes occurring between the hours of midnight and 6:00 a.m. That is when the body naturally experiences sleepiness. Drowsy driving crashes are often more serious than other traffic crashes for several reasons: crashes involving drivers who fall asleep frequently occur on high speed highways (because the driver is traveling at the same speed for a longer period of time); the driver's eyes are closed so there is no attempt to avoid the crash; and the driver is usually alone in the vehicle so there's no one to alert the driver to danger. Experts have found, however, The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), along with the National Center for Sleep Disorder Research, has developed a comprehensive education program consisting of an employee work-site training program, six 4-color posters, a brochure, a video, and a sleep-improvement tip card. All materials will be available in late Spring 2000. The program is based on recommendations of an expert panel and an extensive series of focus groups with both shift workers and management personnel. Information on the development of the program is available on the Internet at www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/perform/human/. For additional questions, or if you would like copies of these materials, please contact:
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