New research on driver behavior says drowsiness is a bigger problem than previously revealed in government estimates.

The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety issued a report February 8 based on dash-cam video from 700+ crashes. Detecting drowsiness after crashes is difficult and under-reported, the auto club said.

Federal estimates had blamed drowsiness as a factor in 1 to 2 percent of crashes.  However, new research based on in-car video shows that nearly one in 10 crashes involved drowsiness.

More than 3,500 drivers participated in the research project, which was federally funded.  AAA’s safety foundation produced a report entitled Prevalence of Drowsy Driving Crashes: Estimates from a Large-Scale Naturalistic Driving Study.

Separate, previous research commissioned by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) said digital billboards are not distracting. In-car monitors tracking drivers’ eye movements showed that glances in the direction of digital billboards were less duration than the distraction threshold set by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

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