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AAA Says More Education Needed On 'Drowsy Driving'

21 April 1999

AAA Says More Education Needed On 'Drowsy Driving'

    SAN DIEGO, April 21 -- AAA today urged the U.S. Department of
Transportation and the safety community to develop materials to educate
motorists about the safety hazards of driving without adequate sleep and
appropriate rest breaks.  It is estimated that drowsy driving accounts for 10
to 15 percent of motorist fatalities.
    Delegates to AAA's 96th Annual Meeting here said educational materials
should also focus on countermeasures to reduce drowsy driving crashes.  They
called upon federal and state transportation departments to conduct rigorous
evaluations of highway rest areas for their usefulness and safety.
    AAA further called on government officials to conduct research on the
effectiveness of on-board drowsiness-detection monitoring devices.
    AAA is a not-for-profit federation of 91 clubs with 1,100 offices
providing its nearly 42 million members in the United States and Canada with
travel, financial, insurance and auto-related services.