The Impact of Drowsy Driving on Traffic Accident Risks

The phenomenon of drowsy driving is a significant yet often underestimated contributor to traffic accidents worldwide. This article delves into the complexities surrounding this issue by analyzing various studies that explore how insufficient sleep and related disorders increase the risk of vehicular collisions. Key factors such as delayed reaction times, impaired judgment, and decreased vigilance are discussed in detail. The paper also reviews technological advancements and preventive strategies aimed at reducing drowsy driving incidents. By synthesizing insights from diverse research sources, this article aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of how drowsy driving impacts road safety and what measures can be effectively implemented to mitigate these risks.

Running head: EFFECTS OF EMOTIONAL STATES IN LOSING ALERTNESS
EFFECTS OF EMOTIONAL STATES IN LOSING ALERTNESS
Name of the Student
Nam of the University
Author note

1EFFECTS OF EMOTIONAL STATES IN LOSING ALERTNESS
Executive summary
The aim of this report is to research and discuss the emotional distress like anger and frustration
that lead to drowsiness and fatal accidents that occur due to lack of alertness. In many cases, it is
seen that the emotional breakdown of a person can lead to drowsiness and consequently it causes
several deadly accidents like car accidents. In many cases, it is seen that the persons have several
emotional issues like anger, frustration, sadness and anxiety that can make them feel
psychologically broken and it results in such accidents. The reasons for having such emotional
issues are also discussed in this report. It is concluded that the number of such accidents is
increasing and proper concern should be built up among the people in order to decrease such
accidents.

2EFFECTS OF EMOTIONAL STATES IN LOSING ALERTNESS
Table of Contents
1.0 Introduction................................................................................................................................3
1.1 Background............................................................................................................................3
1.2 Purpose of the Study..............................................................................................................4
1.3 Research focus.......................................................................................................................4
1.3.1. Statement of the Problem...............................................................................................4
1.3.2. Aim.................................................................................................................................5
1.3.3. Research questions:........................................................................................................5
2. Literature review..........................................................................................................................5
3. Research methodology.................................................................................................................8
4. Research and findings..................................................................................................................9
4.1 Expected Results....................................................................................................................9
4.2 Discussion..............................................................................................................................9
5. Conclusion.................................................................................................................................10
6. Recommendations......................................................................................................................10
7. References..................................................................................................................................11

3EFFECTS OF EMOTIONAL STATES IN LOSING ALERTNESS
1.0 Introduction
It is seen in recent days that the number of accidents which are happened due to several
disorders of emotion is increased to a significant amount. For this reason, the people face several
accidents and that includes car accidents and falling unconsciously. The emotional states lead to
drowsiness which can make the person feel unconscious. It is seen that most of such fatal
accidents are related to the car accidents (Morris, Pilcher and Switzer 2015). This report mainly
concentrates on the car accidents which are followed by the drowsiness caused by the emotional
states. Due to drowsiness, the driver feels sleepy and as a result, they cannot see the object in
front of the car clearly. In many cases, it is also reported that due to emotional distress
sometimes the car drivers also drive the cars at a very high speed and this may lead to serious
accidents.
In this report the background, significance and the research focus are drawn on this topic.
The literature review, research methodology and the evaluation of research and findings are also
included in this report with respect to the main system. Several drawbacks of the emotional
breakdowns and the effect of having excessive sadness, anger, stress and frustration in the driver
that lead to car accidents have been discussed in details in this report. The reasons behind these
situations are also discussed here.
1.1 Background
The background of this report is to discuss the effects of the human emotions which are
responsible for the several fatal accidents. Due to several emotional issues sometimes the drivers
feel to be drowsy (Dasgupta et al. 2015). In many countries the number of car accidents due to
drowsiness is more than thousands per year and it is a serious issue for them. The number of

4EFFECTS OF EMOTIONAL STATES IN LOSING ALERTNESS
accidents due to these kinds of mental issues is increasing in every year and this has been a real
concern (Aleman and Denys 2014). Psychological aspects are also important in case of
decreasing the number of the car accidents. It is also very important from the point of view of
making the concern among the people about the car accidents. The main reason behind the
situations which leads to certain psychological disorders can be of different types and it is also
seen that most of the reasons are related to the personal life and also professional life of the
people.
1.2 Purpose of the Study
The purpose of the study is to research the negative aspects of the emotional distress and
that can lead to drowsiness and can be harmful for people in several ways, it can be a car
accident, road accidents that take place in several places. In recent days, the number of accidents
due to the emotional distress of the car drivers is increasing day by day (Ehring and Ehlers
2014). The emotional dejection like the sadness, anger, stress and frustration are responsible for
the loss of concentration and sense. As a result of this the people can face fatal accidents. Thus
the consequences for emotional distress needs to be addressed and needs to be analyse the
emotional breakdown that can lead to deadly accidents. In many cases it is also observed that the
car drivers are drunk due to the psychological pressure which they face due to the emotional
issues (Anjali et al. 2016). Due to this kind of accidents a lot of people can get severe injuries
and can also be dead. In many cases due to the reckless driving the amount of damage of the
resources is also very high.

5EFFECTS OF EMOTIONAL STATES IN LOSING ALERTNESS
1.3 Research focus
1.3.1. Statement of the Problem
The Problem Statement explains the extent of emotional distress like anger, stress and
frustration that can lead to deadly accidents. The research study shows that the emotional
breakdown and the drowsiness are correlated with each other. The research study also highlights
the emotional pain of the people can lead to fatal accidents. This research study will help to
know the extent of emotional distress that can lead to drowsiness and can lead to occurrence of
fatal accidents.
1.3.2. Aim
The aim of this report is to find out the effects of emotional breakdown which are
responsible for the drowsiness of the people and the factors that can lead to fatal accidents like
car accidents. The other important objective of this report is to find out how the emotions can be
fatal and can lead to fatal car accidents.
1.3.3. Research questions:
o How much the emotional distress like the stress, sadness and anger lead to fatal
and deadly accidents?
o How does these emotional distresses and drowsiness correlate with each other?
o How do these emotions distress lead to deadly and fatal accidents?
2. Literature review
In this literature review, the factors like sadness, anger, stress and frustration and the fatal
accidents occur due to this have been highlighted in the research study. The anger and the

6EFFECTS OF EMOTIONAL STATES IN LOSING ALERTNESS
frustration cause stress and frustration and the frustration leads to feeling glum or bummed out.
The emotion stress generally affects the people negatively, the drowsiness leads to the fatal
accident (Goudie et al. 2014). The emotions are correlated with the accidents and since most of
them are caused due to the car accidents, therefore, the main focus is given on the significance of
the emotional state on the accidents consisted of the car accidents and the road accidents.
The author says that the main reason for the emotional distress may be personal as well as
sociological issues which people face due to several situations in their life. Due to some
incidents, people face a lot of difficulties to be familiar with that sudden change in the situation
and in many cases they feel loose in that case (Heron-Delaney et al. 2013). For that reason, they
can have certain psychological complexity and also they can have certain issues like having
anger, sadness, and frustration.
The author also says that there are many cases that can lead to cause such issues of
having drowsiness (Marsa et al. 2014). Without the physical issues, mental issues can also lead
to such problems and psychological pressure for the people (Higgins et al. 2017). In many cases,
it is seen that due to failure in working place or extra pressure people goes to frustration and also
disappointment which make them feel more down. As a result, they start to have lack of
concentration during driving in many cases it can also lead to drowsiness.
According to this author from the technical point of view, drowsiness is caused due to
working for a long hour or it may be caused due to fall of sodium level in the blood (Komadaet
al. 2013). These can also be happened due to the working pressure. Sometimes the emotional
hype like having anger and sadness can also lead to such situation where drowsiness can occur.

7EFFECTS OF EMOTIONAL STATES IN LOSING ALERTNESS
During driving a lack of concentration can lead to a huge amount of damage or fatal accidents.
Drowsiness is also very dangerous from that point of view.
The author says that the emotions like anger frustration are also very dangerous because
these kinds of emotions make the person vulnerable and dangerous (Murata, Urakami and
Moriwaka 2014). People having an excessive amount of such emotion can tend to damage or
harm other people’s lives also and that may lead them to make accidents also.
Besides the car accidents, there is also the possibilities of several cases where the persons
can lose sense and therefore can also have certain issues like fall on the floor and also can fall
from the buildings. In many cases, it is seen that the number of accidents in the train lines or in
the metro lines is also increasing due to such accidents. The accident risks increase while the
increase of depression level and is showcased in the below statistics (Philip et al. 2014).

8EFFECTS OF EMOTIONAL STATES IN LOSING ALERTNESS
Figure 1: Statistics showing the people suffering from depression and driving
(Source: Philip et al. 2014, p.e114102)
3. Research methodology
The research is about to find out the main reasons for accidents due to the emotional
distress of the people that consequences as the loss of senses. The information regarding this
topic has taken from several internet resources and it is also very important to analyze those data
in order to decrease the number of accidents which are caused due to such psychological issues

9EFFECTS OF EMOTIONAL STATES IN LOSING ALERTNESS
(Philip et al. 2014). Several data have taken from the case studies related to the accidents
regarding this issue. All the data are correlated with respect to each other in order to understand
the proper pattern of the accidents. It is almost clear from those data that most of the accidents
are happened due to having drowsiness. In many cases, after analyzing the data it is also seen
that the fact of having drowsiness is due to the emotional breakdown of the car drivers (Rajan
and Dinesh 2015). From that information, it is also seen that the car drivers are having serious
issues like anger, sadness, stress or frustration during driving cars. It is seen that in most of the
cases the car drivers are having such anger, frustration or sadness due to severe pressure in their
working or social life.
Figure 2: The Statistics showing the depression measurement of men and women
(Source: Rajan and Dinesh 2015, p.38)

10EFFECTS OF EMOTIONAL STATES IN LOSING ALERTNESS
4. Research and findings
4.1 Expected Results
From the research methodology and analysis of the information regarding the emotional
state of people, it is seen that in most of the cases car accidents are happening due to the
drowsiness during car driving (Higgins et al. 2017). From the interview of the people, it is also
seen that the personal issues of their life lead to the mental anxiety which can further results into
the drowsiness. Most of the people are having such anxiety due to the pressure in their working
field or in social life. It is seen that when the people having certain mental pressure are driving
the car it is a high possibility to have drowsiness. It is also important to create concern among
people so that they can be more serious on such issues (Philip et al. 2014). From the results, it is
seen that these kinds of people do not talk so much with other related to their mental pressure. It
is cleared that proper counselling and interaction is needed in order to make them more
concerned about the dangerous situations which can cause during driving having mental issues.
4.2 Discussion
From the above report, it is cleared that the reason for making the car driving is due to the
drowsiness of the car drivers (Anjali et al. 2016). From several types of research and other
information, it is also cleared that the main reason of having the drowsiness during driving is the
emotional issues like anger, sadness, frustration which are caused for the working or social
pressure on the person. From the information, it is cleared that the number of such accidents is
also increasing day by day and it is the time to create more concern among the people regarding
the car accidents (Rajan and Dinesh 2015). The people who are having such kind of mental
pressure should be helped by interacting with their issues. Several safety parameters should also
be introduced in order to decrease such kind of car accidents.

11EFFECTS OF EMOTIONAL STATES IN LOSING ALERTNESS
5. Conclusion
From the above discussion, it can be concluded that the number of car accidents is
increased due to the mental pressure and anxiety of the car drivers. These issues can lead to
drowsiness which can lead to fatal accidents. It may be related to the working place or it may be
related to the social life of the person. Most of the accidents are placed on the roads and train
lines. For that reason, the safety in the roads and the metro tunnel should be increased. It is also
concluded that to reduce the numbers of such car accidents it is important to share the thoughts
and emotions of those people and also it is important to do counselling for their betterment to
prevent the number of accidents caused due to such reasons.
6. Recommendations
i. One should not drive cars in mental distress conditions.
ii. The people should check their emotions and should stay calm and then they should drive.
iii. The people should not react much while they are emotional as the people can lose
concentration or in other cases can get tired and can feel drowsy. This can result in deadly
accidents. Thus the people must stay away from driving when they are mentally and emotionally
distressed.