20% of road accidents caused by tired drivers
Motorists who get behind the wheel when tired account for 20% of Britain’s road accidents according to new findings by leading online motor insurance company InsureYourMotor.com. Last year, driver drowsiness was thought to be the cause of 40,000 serious injuries and 3,500 deaths on the roads, each death costing the British taxpayer over £1 million. The problem is becoming so extreme that tiredness whilst driving now claims more lives than accidents involving drink drivers. Sleep related accidents are three times more likely to result in death or serious injury than other road accidents because drowsy drivers do not brake to try to prevent an accident as impact, (often at high speed) is the thing that alerts them. Research shows that ‘microsleeps’ are the potentially fatal cause of falling asleep at the wheel. Microsleeps last between two and 30 second and normally occur when the driver is tired but is fighting to stay awake. These microsleeps are always preceded by feelings of extreme sleepiness that drivers are negligently choosing to ignore. David Harlow, MD of insureYourMortor.com comments: “Here we have yet another scenario where drivers are just not being aware of the dangers they may present to themselves and other roads users. It seems that drivers are just acting with tunnel vision when it comes to road safety; all they care about is getting to their destination in the quickest possible time with almost a ‘no matter what’ attitude. This can not carry on; people are getting hurt because of these ignorant motorists and drivers must now be aware that more care is needed to keep the roads safe.” General guidelines for preventing tiredness whilst driving include: • Prepare for the journey by packing the night before so you have a clear head in the morning. Also get a good night’s sleep before setting off. • Avoid driving in the early hours (midnight to 7am) or during the ‘post lunch dip’ (1pm to 4pm) as these are the times when alertness is decreased. Don’t drive at night if you can avoid it, internal biological clocks encourage most people to sleep when it is dark. • Take rest breaks. Don’t drive for more than two hours at a time and ensure you stop to get food and drink if you feel at all sleepy. Also, don’t be embarrassed to pull over somewhere safe to take a short nap; coffee followed by a 15-minute nap is best until you can get some proper sleep. • Listen to your body. If you feel tired and you’re fighting sleep pull over. The most visible characteristics of driver sleepiness is drifting between lanes. • Keep yourself awake. Set the car ventilation to blow cold, fresh air at your face. Opening the windows often has little effect. Also, listen to music or talk with a passenger, any variable sound will assist in keeping you alert.Date - 13/02/2004
