Around 23% of Portuguese drivers have fallen asleep at the wheel of a vehicle in the past two years, with 8% of these cases resulting in an accident, according to a study by the European Sleep Research Society and the Portuguese Sleep Association (APS).
Marta Gonçalves, president of APS and leading psychiatrist in charge of the study, said that the main focus was to learn how frequently these incidents take place, describe the accidents caused by sleep deprivation and identify the factors that lead to a higher chance of falling asleep while driving.
The online survey included 12,000 drivers from 19 European countries, 1,093 of which were Portuguese. It was found that men are two times more likely to fall asleep at the wheel, and that it happens more frequently to individuals travelling greater distances or to those who suffer from sleep apnoea, a disorder caused by pauses in breathing or shallow breaths during slumber.
Gonçalves will be presenting the results of the study at the European Parliament on October 15.
