Driver fatigue higher in Hawai'i than rest of U.S.

By Scott Ishikawa
Advertiser Transportation Writer

Despite the lack of open spaces required for long-distance driving, Hawai'i motorists may be falling asleep at the wheel more often than the average U.S. driver.

Young men driving on weekends and late at night in rural areas are accounting for most of it.

According to a study recently published by the University of Hawai'i, the percentage of Hawai'i traffic accidents related to fatigue is higher than the national average.

The study, compiled by UH Department of Urban and Regional Planning professor Karl Kim and research assistant Eric Yamashita, found that fatigue-related accidents made up 3 percent of all Hawai'i crashes between 1986 and 1995, while the national average was 1 percent during the same period.

Hawai'i's high cost of living may also come into play, with jobs and economic activities increasingly occurring around-the-clock. Some people hold more than one job or perhaps attend classes in the day and work at one or more jobs during the evening, Kim said.

Not surprisingly, the study also found a correlation between drowsy-driving accidents and alcohol, considered a depressant.

"It was interesting that despite our lack of wide open spaces, we had a higher incidence of fatigue-related crashes," Kim said. "So the study also looked at the possible factors behind it."

Crashes attributed to fatigue are often associated with long-distance driving. Hawai'i has only 4,164 miles of road, while a large state like Texas has 79,102 miles of state-maintained roads.

"Common belief is this would not be a major problem because we can't make long-distance trips as when compared to the Mainland," said Marilyn Kali, state Department of Transportation spokeswoman. "But (the) study has shown a link between fatigue crashes and a certain population group."

Department officials have yet to analyze the report, Kali said.

Based on police accident reports from 1986 to 1995, the study found young men were involved in many of the crashes, particularly on weekends and late at night just outside urban Honolulu, Kim said.

And the number of accidents linked to fatigue may even be underreported, he said. Some drivers out of fear of liability or embarrassment may not want to admit falling asleep on the road.

"While there are tests for alcohol consumption, there is no system to measure whether fatigue was a factor," Kim said. "By the time the crash has occurred, the driver is likely to lack any signs of being drowsy."

Factors involved

Out of approximately 203,000 Hawai'i vehicle crashes between 1986 and 1995, the study found that 6,500 of them were fatigue-related.

The UH study, which supported the results of other national studies, found that males made up 76 percent of the fatigued drivers. It also found that 62 percent of the drivers were between the ages of 15 and 29.

Gary Au of Drive Safe Hawai'i teaches mandatory driver education classes to students at the local YMCAs. He said teenage drivers, many who may think of themselves as "invulnerable," are more inclined to avoid or delay taking a break from driving, even if they realize they are tired.

"Young drivers like to push themselves," said Au, who talks about fatigue-driving in his classes. "Students already have a full plate of studies and extracurricular activities during the school week. So when the weekend comes, they expend all their remaining energy to play.

"Having kids of my own, teenagers need eight hours of sleep because they're still growing. What sleep deprivation does is slows down the driver's reaction on things happening around him."

The report also found many of those crashes occurred late at night, particularly on weekends, indicating that people became more tired and inattentive as the week went on, Kim said.

The study also showed that many of the crashes occurred just outside urban Honolulu, with 58 percent of the crashes between midnight and 6 a.m.

"A driver leaves urban Honolulu after work or a social event and heads home," Kim said. "About 20 to 30 minutes outside of town is where many of these accidents occurred."

The study also found that fatigued drivers crashed more along straightaways (77.8 percent of the time) and level grades (64.5 percent).

"The driver may become so familiar with a route going home, he's not paying full attention to the road," Kim said.

Honolulu police said fatigued drivers are a concern, but the numbers haven't overshadowed bigger concerns such as drunken drivers and accidents caused by right-of-way violations, said Sgt. Bob Lung of HPD's Traffic Division.

Lung said statistics on driver fatigue are difficult to track for police. Many drivers don't tell police they fell asleep at the wheel.

Lung agreed about straightaways inducing sleepiness, saying drivers usually "get fixated" and tend to fall into "automatic pilot" driving where motorists cross the center line and veer off the road.

Search for solutions

The study recommended that the state or counties look at roadside devices like "rumble strips" to alert sleepy drivers when they are drifting off the road or into oncoming traffic.

Kali said department officials will look at the local study, but doesn't know if the state can implement physical changes based on the report because the crash study data only goes up to 1995.

"We will probably provide the data to the certified driving instructors to teach the students," Kali said. "Unfortunately, the 'human' crash factor lies mainly with the responsibility of the driver."

In concluding his study, Kim admits the problem may be best dealt with by the individual driver. He suggests that more emphasis on sleep may have a greater effect than adding rumble strips.

"Part of the problem is related to the lifestyles and behaviors of drivers — particularly young adult males," Kim said. "The ultimate cure for the sleepy driver may be to set aside the time and space to allow him to catch up on sleep."

Advertiser Staff Writer Brandon Masuoka contributed to this report.