Sleep Driving Knowledge in NSW Adolescents

Driver fatigue and sleepiness is a major cause of motor vehicle accidents in Australia especially in young drivers. We surveyed 1387 NSW adolescents (ages 13-17) about a range of health behaviours, resiliency and included a 5 point knowledge quiz on sleep and driving. Depending on the questions, 35-65% of respondents answered incorrectly or didn?t know. Females were more likely to answer correctly. Older females demonstrated better knowledge on some questions than younger females but in males, there was no relationship between age and knowledge in males. Adolescents, particularly males, have poor knowledge about basic facts relevant to the risk of fatigue/sleep related accidents.