Intended for healthcare professionals

Letters

Misperceptions exist about sleep attacks when driving

BMJ 2002; 325 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.325.7365.657 (Published 21 September 2002) Cite this as: BMJ 2002;325:657
  1. Jim Horne (J.A.Horne@lboro.ac.uk), professor
  1. Sleep Research Centre, Loughborough University, Leicestershire LE11 3TU

    EDITOR—Around half of all sleep related road crashes are caused by healthy adults aged under 301. We investigate many such crashes and find that most drivers deny having fallen asleep, and the evidence has to come from elsewhere. Other research shows that momentary sleep can go unnoticed.2 Moreover, these drivers usually deny knowledge of prior sleepiness, even those admitting to having fallen asleep. Ostensibly, it was an “unforewarned” sleep attack. Claims that drivers with Parkinson's disease are …

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