Warwickshire Police

Research

Research has shown that many drivers believe a good journey is one that can be made without stopping at all and that the solution to tiredness is to wind down the windows and turn up the music - refuelling the car or stopping for food or to go to the toilet is seen as taking a break.

• Driving between midnight and 6am presents a particular risk for sleep-related crashes as this is when your body clock is in a natural trough. There is another, smaller trough between about 2pm and 4pm.
• All sleepy drivers are aware of their tiredness, particularly when they reach the stage of fighting sleep (i.e. doing things to keep themselves awake, such as winding down the window). You don’t fall asleep without warning!
• Opening the window for cold air or turning up the radio are of very limited benefit and sufficient only to find a safe place for a break.
• Reaction time devices are of little practical use in detecting driver tiredness. By the time they work a driver is already well on the way to falling asleep.

High Risk Groups:

• 18-30 year old males - prime target group more likely to fall asleep at the wheel.

• Leisure drivers - driver further distances at key holiday times.
• Driving for work - 40% of all fatigue related crashes involve someone at work.
  
  

Did you know?

• An estimated 300 people a year are killed where a driver has fallen asleep at the wheel.
• Research commissioned by the Government found that falling asleep at the wheel accounts for up to 20% of crashes on motorways or similar roads, and as many as one in ten of all crashes on Britain's roads.
• If you fall asleep at the wheel you are 50% more likely to die or suffer serious injury because a sleeping driver does not react before a crash.
• Alcohol and drugs (including some medicines) can make you more tired without you realising it. Tips for drivers
• Plan your journey to include a 15 minute break every two hours of driving
• Drinking 2 cups of coffee or other high caffeine drink and having a rest to allow time for the caffeine to kick in are effective methods of combating tiredness.
• Have a good night's sleep before setting out on a long journey.
• Remember the risks if you have to get up unusually early to start your trip, or have a long drive home after a full day’s work.
• Avoid making long trips between midnight- 6am and 2-4pm when natural alertness is low.
• Share the driving if possible.
• If you start to feel sleepy find a safe place to stop (not the hard shoulder of a motorway) as soon as possible.
• Opening the window or turning up the radio does little to prevent a driver from falling asleep at the wheel.

Please support our communities and help to protect them by obeying and enforcing traffic law and by educating and encouraging all road users to make time for a break.

Useful Links:

Think! Road Safety Advice
Website: www.thinkroadsafety.gov.uk

RoSPA Driver Advice:
Website: www.rospa.com

Loughborough University Sleep Research Centre: Website: www.lboro.ac.uk