Driving and fatigue

The Department for Transport’s THINK! campaign has some excellent resources for employers relating to driving and fatigue.

They show that drivers who fall asleep at the wheel have often tried to fight off drowsiness by opening a window, or by turning up the radio. This doesn't work for long.

Outlined also is a series of interesting facts:-

• Research suggests that almost 20% of accidents on major roads are sleep-related
• Sleep-related accidents are more likely than others to result in a fatality or serious injury
• Peak times for accidents are in the early hours and after lunch
• About 40% of sleep-related accidents involve commercial vehicles
• Men under 30 have the highest risk of falling asleep at the wheel

Most importantly, however, there is a list of good advice points.

All this can be accessed at their link below.

http://think.direct.gov.uk/fatigue.html

Watch their ‘don’t drive tired’ video at the link below.

http://think.direct.gov.uk/video-fatigue.html

BRAKE the road safety charity has also useful information on driver tiredness. The link below outlines what increases risk for driver fatigue, how a driver can tell if they are getting tired and gives tips on ways to avoid tiredness

http://www.brake.org.uk/wake-up/15-facts-a-resources/facts/485-driver-tiredness