Young drivers are more likely to continue driving when experiencing signs of sleepiness and are over-represented in sleep-related crashes. Adolescence and early adulthood are characterised by comparatively poor executive functioning, and while previous research has demonstrated a link between poor executive functions and several risky driving behaviours, the relationship with sleepy driving is not well understood. Accordingly, the first aim of the current study was to examine the association between executive functions and experiencing the signs of driver sleepiness in a sample of young adult drivers. Additionally, young drivers who have less experience with driving while sleepy, may attribute less importance to the signs of sleepiness as an indicator of underlying sleepiness level. To test this assumption (aim two), the impact of experiencing signs of sleepiness on perceptions of the importance of those signs was examined. Participants included 118 young adults aged between 17 and 25 years, who completed an online survey measuring experiences with the signs of sleepiness while driving, executive functions, and demographic characteristics. This sample of young adults reported having considerable experience with several signs of sleepiness (i.e., yawning, mind wandering, and difficulty keeping eyes while driving). A linear regression analysis found that the demographic variables of age and hours driven per week, as well as the executive function constructs of organization, strategic planning, and impulse control were associated with experiencing signs or sleepiness. Moreover, having experienced more signs of sleepiness was associated with an increased likelihood in rating those signs as important indicators of sleepiness. The current findings suggest both that several high-level cognitive processes as well as levels of experience with driving when experiencing signs of sleepiness contribute to young peoples’ sleepy driving.

年轻司机在出现困倦迹象时更有可能继续驾驶，并且在与睡眠相关的事故中所占比例过高。青春期和成年早期的特点是执行功能相对较差，虽然之前的研究表明执行功能较差与几种危险驾驶行为之间存在联系，但与困倦驾驶的关系尚不清楚。因此，本研究的第一个目的是在年轻的成年驾驶员样本中检查执行功能与驾驶员嗜睡迹象之间的关联。此外，在困倦时驾驶经验较少的年轻驾驶员可能不太重视困倦迹象作为潜在困倦程度的指标。为了测试这个假设（目标二），研究了体验困倦迹象对这些迹象重要性的看法的影响。参与者包括 118 名年龄在 17 至 25 岁之间的年轻人，他们完成了一项在线调查，测量驾驶时的困倦迹象、执行功能和人口统计特征。这个年轻人的样本报告有相当多的嗜睡迹象（即打哈欠、走神和开车时难以保持眼睛）。线性回归分析发现，年龄和每周工作时间等人口统计变量，以及组织、战略规划和冲动控制的执行功能结构与体征或困倦有关。而且，经历更多困倦的迹象与将这些迹象列为困倦的重要指标的可能性增加有关。目前的研究结果表明，在出现困倦迹象时，几种高级认知过程以及驾驶经验水平都会导致年轻人困倦驾驶。