Why it matters:
Drowsy driving contributes to around 100,000 crashes, 71,000 injuries, $12.5 million in damages annually in the U.S.1
Renowned sleep scientist says regularity is the key to better sleep, higher driving performance.
Improving drivers' cognitive performance is a top priority of Nissan's future research.
"Imagine this scenario," says Dr. Matthew Walker, a renowned sleep expert and professor of Neuroscience and Psychology at the University of California, Berkeley. "Two taxis show up. One driver has a 30-percent higher likelihood of getting into a crash due to being sleep deprived. Which would you choose?
"The answer is obvious, but that's the position we put ourselves in when we neglect our sleep," says Walker.
November 5-11 marked The National Sleep Foundation's Drowsy Driving Prevention Week®, encouraging a focus on getting the right amount of sleep before driving. To further the conversation, Nissan is working with Walker and Dr. Lucian Gheorghe, lead of the Nissan Brain to Performance program, to analyze drowsy driving and identify solutions for the future.
Risks on the road
The dangers of sleep deprivation are real: Around 100,000 crashes per year in the U.S. are reported to involve drowsy drivers, leading to an estimated 71,000 injuries and over $12.5 million in damages1.
To expand on his taxi metaphor, Walker referenced a AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety study, revealing a non-linear correlation between sleep hours and crash risk.
Compared to drivers who had slept for at least seven hours in the past 24 hours, drivers who reported they had slept:
6-7 hours had a 1.3-times greater crash rate
5-6 hours had a 1.9-times greater crash rate
4-5 hours had a 4.3-times greater crash rate
Less than four hours had an 11.5-times greater crash rate2
And yet, the simplest solution is within everyone's grasp.
"Sleep is probably the greatest legal performance enhancer not enough people are using," said Walker.
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