The fact that drunk, drugged and distracted drivers pose a danger to themselves and others is fairly well understood, but tired drivers, though often ignored as a risk, are every bit as dangerous. The traditional image is of someone driving late at night, possibly on the way to or from a holiday, but these days, tiredness is often an issue with people driving for work too – often because of hours driven rather than the time of day. If you spend the week working
away from home or have just flown back into the country, you might also be susceptible to sleep related accidents. Research carried out for the AA Charitable Trust’s #drowsydriver campaign, launched in November 2018, showed: What should I do if I start feeling tired when driving?Winding down the window or turning the radio up aren’t effective at combatting tiredness. If you find yourself doing these things, it’s a sign you are sleepy and need a break.
How should I plan for driving a long distance?Even experienced HGV drivers are prevented from driving more than 9 hours in a day or working for over 13 hours in a day. Most car drivers are nowhere near as used to driving for this long.
What can increase the risk of driving tired?
What is the best way to sleep well?According to Dr. Katharina Lederle, sleep scientist at Somnia author of Sleep Sense, the best countermeasure to sleepiness is sleep. It’s the only way to combat drowsiness and sleepiness. Sleep is what the body needs at this point because we have either been awake for a long time or our internal body clock is saying it is time for sleep. Sometimes these will both occur at the same time.
Some people will also be more prone to feeling sleepy at certain times of day – this is known as our ‘chrono-type’. Dr Katharina Lederle’s Top Sleep Tips
Who is most at risk from driving tired?Young drivers may be more at risk because they are more vulnerable to sleep loss and, depending on their age, tend to require more sleep than adults. Young drivers may also suffer the effects of lifestyle choices such as excessive screen-time at night cutting into valuable sleep time, erratic sleep patterns and consumption of stimulants. Our AA-Populus research shows:
In young people a brain area involved in decision-making has not yet fully developed and they may not be able to safely judge risks. They may shrug off the risk of falling asleep, or not consider it at all, and instead are overconfident in their ability to drive at any time of the day. This can have severe consequences on their ability to drive safely. How does being tired affect driving?If you don't get enough sleep it will affect your ability to function in several different ways any of which can have dangerous consequences when you're driving. Driving tired impairs judgement and reaction time so you may react slowly, brake late or miss a hazard altogether. This may explain why driving tired is a factor in a lot of rear end crashes. Driving tired also affects your coordination so you might find yourself varying your speed - slowing down and speeding up - or your lane position, rather smoothly following a straight line. Crashes involving tired drivers are often at high speed and without any braking because the driver was asleep. Is it against the law to drive while tired?There isn't a specific offence of driving when tired but doing so significantly increases the chance of you committing other offences or causing a collision. The penalty for causing death by dangerous driving is up to 14 years imprisonment. You must also tell DVLA if you have a medical condition that makes you very sleepy during the time that you would normally be awake. You could be fined up to £1000 if you don't and may be prosecuted if you're involved in a crash as a result. Is it illegal to sleep in your car?You can sleep in your car as long as you're legally and safely parked and are not under the influence of drink or drugs. Watch out for local restrictions though, and bear-in-mind:
Driving for workIf you're a company driver, you'll know how you can feel pressured into breaking guidelines to meet deadlines. Most employers will have a road safety policy which should lay down rules to help prevent fatigue-related accidents. Updated 2 November 2018 Who is most at risk for drowsy driving?Teenagers as a group are at highest risk for crashes related to drowsy driving; other high-risk groups include patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and other sleep disorders, shift workers, medical house staff, law enforcement officers, and commercial drivers.
Who is most at risk for drowsy driving quizlet?DROWSY DRIVING - WHO IS MOST AT RISK? Motorists who are: Sleep deprived. Driving long distances without rest breaks.
What are the danger signals of drowsy driving?Learn the warning signs of drowsy driving:
Yawning or blinking frequently. Trouble remembering the past few miles driven. Missing your exit. Drifting from your lane.
How much sleep is recommended to avoid drowsy driving?Getting seven to nine hours of nightly sleep is the best way to prevent drowsy driving. Drivers should also avoid driving late at night or alone, and they should share the driving with another passenger on long trips.
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