Psychological charachteristics contributing to young drivers risk of sleep-related car crashes

Background: Young drivers as a group are more likely to be exposed to the risk of sleep-related accidents, but this does not mean that all young drivers are equivalent. Individual differences in driving habits, risk perception, and susceptibility to sleepiness contribute to crash risk. Methods: At the aim to identify traits related to sleepiness episodes while driving a questionnaire was administered to 1008 young drivers (age ¼ 18.33 0.68). A cluster analysis was used to derive the number of subtypes within the novice driver sample and suggested a three clusters solution. Findings: Cluster 1 was a relative high-risk group. The individuals in this cluster reported the highest level of driving anger, sensation seeking and normlessness. They also reported an higher external locus of control and resulted evening-types. Discussion: Compared to individuals in the other two clusters, the cluster 1 individuals reported to have experienced sleepiness attack while driving more often.