Dangers of driving tired
Research conducted by Loughborough University Sleep Research
Centre, published on 19 October 2004 by Department for Transport (DfT)
shows that:
- 17% of road crashes resulting in injury or death were sleep
related;
- One quarter of all road crashes that caused death or serious
injury were sleep related;
- 85% of drivers causing sleep related crashes were men;
- 67% of sleep related crashes were caused by car drivers and 32%
were caused by drivers of good vehicles;
- While road crashes occur mostly on Fridays, these sleep related
crashes occurred least on Fridays and mostly on Mondays.
The DfT spends approximately £1m per year on 'Think! Don't Drive
Tired' messages. This includes:
- Advice and guidance encouraging people not to start a journey
tired, to take a break in a safe place (not on the hard shoulder)
and drink two cups of coffee or a high-caffeine drink, followed by a
15-minute nap (while the caffeine kicks in) to help combat
tiredness.
The DfT estimates that about 300 people a year are killed and many
more are seriously injured where a driver has fallen asleep at the
wheel.
The report can be viewed on the
DfT website
