Driver Fatigue Boosts Holiday Traffic Deaths - Brief Article

USA Today (Society for the Advancement of Education), May, 2000

Memorial Day, July 4th, Labor Day. There's a dark side to these highlights of the American summer vacation season--the inevitable news reports updating highway accident death tolls during long holiday weekends. Although heavy travel volumes certainly play a role in the high accident rates, most experts agree that another factor is likely to blame--increased driver fatigue attributed to long driving hours, lack of sleep, and the demands of holiday activities.

While science has yet to find a fail-safe solution for "falling asleep at the wheel" driving, research from Washington University in St. Louis (Mo.) and other laboratories is providing important clues on the biomechanics of driver fatigue and paving the way for development of onboard alarm systems capable of rousing a driver who is dozing toward catastrophe.