National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Transportation Safety: The Sleep Factor
Mark R. Rosekind, Ph.D.Administrator
Safer drivers. Safer cars. Safer roads.
Federal Agencies: Transportation
FRA
NHTSA
FHWA
PHMSA
NTSB
FMCSA
MARAD
DOT
FAAFTA
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U.S. Department of Transportation
• Rail
• Pipeline
• Urban Transit
• Roads/Highways
• Airports/Airways
• Ports/Waterways
OUR NATION’S TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE
Transportation Infrastructure Moves People and Goods, and Supports Nation’s Economy
• Carries 265 million vehicles
• Provides mobility to 15 million Americans without vehicles
• Moves 16 billion tons of goods
• Pipelines transport 5.4 billion barrels of petroleum
• Supports 10 million airline flights,
- carrying 800 million passengers
- 44 billion tons of freight
- among 600 airports
• Entire transportation system ~ 9 percent of U.S. GDP
SECRETARYDEPUTY SECRETARY
Federal Aviation Administration
Federal Railroad Administration
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Federal Transit AdministrationMaritime Administration
Federal Highway Administration
St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation
Federal Motor Carrier Administration
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
Offices of the Secretary
Office of Intelligence, Security and Emergency
ResponseMultiple Others
DOT Organization Chart
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Reduce deaths, injuries and economic losses
resulting from motor vehicle crashes
NHTSA Mission
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• Set/enforce safety performance standards for motor vehicles & equipment
• Set/enforce fuel economy standards
• Conduct research on driver behavior and traffic safety
NHTSA Mission
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Challenges of a 24/7 Society
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• Degrade/impair
–Safety–Health–Performance–Mood
Sleep Loss and Circadian Disruption
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• Drunk
• Drugged
• Distracted
Impaired Driving: 3D’s
• Drowsy
4D’s
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Drowsy Driving
NSF Poll: 60% reported driving while drowsy 37% nodded off
AAA: 400,000 -1 million crashes annually
Estimates: 5,000 – 7,000 lives lost/year
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Circadian Influence: Car Crashes
1200
1100
1000
900
800
700
500
300
100Midnight 6 AM Noon 6 PM Midnight
Nu
mbe
r
Time of Day
600
400
200
M.M. Mitler, et al., Sleep, 1988
International DataN: 6052
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Drowsy Driving . . .
Surrogate&
Symbol
Safety, health, performance, and mood riskscreated by our sleep-deprived society
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Example Challenges
• Scope/cost of the problem
• Workplace/school issues
• Developmental/age changes
• Health issues
• Design/technology (+/-)
• Countermeasures/future directions_______________________________
No Magic Bullet
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• Collect better data and improve estimate of problem
• Develop/test public awareness and education campaign
• Identify/develop effective legal and enforcement strategies
• Develop strategies for vulnerable populations
NHTSA Drowsy Driving Initiative
Drowsy Driving Forum: November 4 -5, 2015
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Fatigue Risks
awake/alert asleep
reduced performance
variability
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Fatigue Risks
• degraded 20 – 50%+:
- reaction time - judgment- memory - attention- communication - mood- situational awareness
• increased:
- irritability - attentional lapses- apathy - microsleeps
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Doran SM, Van Dongen HP, Dinges DF. Sustained attention performance during sleep deprivation: evidence of state instability. Archives of Italian Biology: Neuroscience 2001;139:253-267.
Fatigue and Reaction Times
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Alertness Reports Often Inaccurate
Subjectivealertness
1
7
4
20
15
10
5
0
Physiologicalalertness
TimeAdapted from Sasaki et al., 1986
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Success requires . . .
a culture change that supports
different attitudes and behaviors
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To Better Manage Sleep/Circadian Factors
• Acknowledge risks
• Educate everyone
• Strong policies
• Take action/use strategies!
• Promote culture change
Safer drivers. Safer cars. Safer roads.
The Role of Sleep/Circadian Science
• Opportunities
- operationally relevant research
- translate/communicate findings
- your personal role/responsibility
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