Continuing to drive while sleepy: the influence of sleepiness countermeasures, motivation for driving sleepy, and risk perception
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Updated: Apr 23, 2026

Collecting Sleep, Circadian, Fatigue, and Performance Data in Complex Operational Environments
Published on: August 8, 2019
Christopher N Watling1, Kerry A Armstrong1, Patricia L Obst2
1Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety - Queensland, Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, K Block, 130 Victoria Park Road, Kelvin Grove, Queensland 4059, Australia.
Abstract:
Driver sleepiness is a major contributor to road crashes. The current study sought to examine the association between perceptions of effectiveness of six sleepiness countermeasures and their relationship with self-reports of continuing to drive while sleepy among 309 drivers after controlling for the influence of age, sex, motivation for driving sleepy, and risk perception of sleepy driving. The results demonstrate that the variables of age, sex, motivation, and risk perception were significantly associated with self-reports of continuing to drive while sleepy and only one countermeasure was associated with self-reports of continuing to drive while sleepy. Further, it was found that age differences in self-reports of continuing to drive while sleepy was mediated by participants' motivation and risk perception. These findings highlight modifiable factors that could be focused on with interventions that seek to modify drivers' attitudes and behaviours of driving while sleepy.
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