I dozed off and said, "Boom"...Drowsiness Driving Accidents Surge by 35%

Last year, the number of accidents caused by dozing off behind the wheel jumped 35%.

Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance's Traffic Safety Culture Research Institute analyzed and announced the accidents of its car insurance vehicles from 2019 to last year.

As a result, 7,279 drowsy driving accidents were reported last year, up 35.4% from 2021.

Compared to 2019, before the COVID-19 epidemic began in earnest, it increased by more than 20%.

In particular, the month in which accidents were concentrated was November, with an average of 614.6 cases, 16% more than the monthly average.

The institute analyzed that there are many drowsy driving accidents due to the increase in the use of vehicle heaters as November is a fall foliage season and cold.

As the proportion of highways gradually increased, the accident site increased to 45% last year compared to 2019.

In terms of the increase rate of accidents in the age group during the same period, those aged 65 or older were the highest at 87.3%, and those aged 39 or younger decreased by nearly 7%.The type of

accident increased the number of crashes by 45%, followed by career changes.

The institute suggested that the installation of DMS, a driver monitoring system, should be mandatory to prevent drowsy driving accidents.

DMS is a system that prevents drowsy driving with a voice warning when a driver closes his or her eyes for more than 3 seconds, and it is only available in Korea as an option for luxury vehicles.

He also said that if you have to drive for more than an hour, you should try to reduce the likelihood of drowsy driving through periodic vehicle ventilation.