MEDICAL RISK-FACTORS AMONGST DRIVERS IN SINGLE-CAR ACCIDENTS

Objectives. To estimate medical risk factors amongst drivers in single -car accidents with special reference to sleepiness and alcohol abuse. Design. An epidemiological survey by means of multiple-choice questio nnaires that were mailed to drivers and a random control group. Settin g. Iceland. Subjects. All drivers in single-car accidents (n = 471) du ring 1989-91 and a control group from the general population (n = 1000 ). Main outcome measure. Medical health profile and answers to questio ns concerning sleep disorders and alcohol abuse. Results. Compared to the controls the drivers were younger and there were three times more males. The drivers abused alcohol more often. Chronic disorders such a s epilepsy, diabetes mellitus, and cardiac disorders were not over-rep resented. Altogether, 15.4% claimed that sleepiness had caused their t raffic accident, logistic regression analyses revealed that these 'sle epy' drivers more often had alcohol abuse and a history of 'almost fal ling a sleep whilst driving'. Conclusions. Compared to controls, drive rs in single-car accidents are more likely to be young, male, have a h istory of sleepiness whilst driving, and also have a history suggestiv e of alcoholism. Chronic disorders like epilepsy and diabetes mellitus were not overrepresented amongst the single-car accidents drivers. Th ese results raise the question of how drivers with a high probability of causing an accident (sleepiness and alcoholism) can be identified i n time and proper measures taken to prevent 'accidents waiting to happ en'.