The majority of drivers fail to acknowledge the role played by """"""""everyday phenomena such as physical or mental fatigue and sleep deprivation""""""""(Corfitsen, 1993, p667) in impaired driving performance though these factors have been shown to account for 13% of motor vehicle collisions and 1.1% of fatal accidents(Bartels and Kusakcioglu, 1965, cf: Corfitsen, 1994). Falling asleep at the wheel is considered to he the cause of one out of every ten non- alcohol related accident fatalities(Summala and Mikkola, 1994). The proposed research focuses on this potentially lethal combination of driving a passenger vehicle while experiencing sleep deprivation (SD). To date, this problem has not been given due consideration as evidenced by limited research on the role of SD in passenger vehicle crashes, and even less research on behavioral factors potentially linked to these crashes. This study seeks to further research on social behavioral factors in injury causation and prevention, and on the valuable uses of mass media communications to promote traffic safety and reduce preventable catastrophes. It proposes to: 1) examine factors which may underlie sleep deprivation and driving such as perceptions of vulnerability to risk, 2) develop a media intervention targeting sleep- deprived drivers which addresses these factors, 3) evaluate the effects of the intervention on behavioral and epidemiologic outcomes like risk perceptions and SD- related car crash injuries, respectively. The overall aim of the proposed research is to decrease the incidence of fatalities and severe injuries related to the combination of SD and driving. The principal behavioral aims of the intervention are to heighten awareness of the severity of driving under these conditions.
