By Lily Abromeit

One new University of Iowa study shows that drowsy driving could be more dangerous than it seems.

The National Advanced Driving Simulator on the UI campus recently studied the effects of driving without much sleep. They have their test subjects stay up for a long period of time and then they participate in an hour-long driving simulation.

“The most prevalent behavior was drowsiness-related lane departures,” said John Gasper, a research assistant for the simulator.

The center simulates real-life driving simulations and Gasper said they often see drivers drift in and out of their lane as far as the simulated ditch on the side of the road.

In addition to having sleep-deprived test subjects, they also bring into play everything that can happen while operating a vehicle, such as distractions on the road and in the car and the effects of drugs and alcohol.

The data from these simulations is collected and shared with a variety of companies.

“We work with car companies, we work with companies that make parts with car companies,” said Omar Ahmad, the simulator’s director of operation.

Daily Iowan TV has the full story.