How Dangerous is Fatigued Driving?
While the risks of drink-driving are discussed frequently, driving while fatigued can be just as dangerous. Fatigue is a major cause of road accidents, with estimated 10-20% of all crashes caused by fatigued driving.
On top of that, 40% of sleep-related accidents involve a commercial vehicle driver.
Even mild, short-term sleep deprivation can affect alertness and decision-making while driving. Being awake for 18 hours can have the same negative impact upon your ability to drive safely as being over the legal drink-drive limit in the UK.
A tired driver has slower reaction times and reduced attention and awareness. Their ability to judge vehicle speed and control while steering is also affected, which is why it is so important to take fatigue seriously.
While there is no specific law prohibiting fatigued driving, many of the associated driving behaviours could fall under the Careless or Dangerous driving legislation.
Police statistics show that fatigue contributes to around 4% of fatal road crashes and 2% of all collisions in the UK, but it is likely that figures are far higher because fatigue is harder to spot.
Most of these sleep-related crashes happen on dual-carriageways and motorways.
What are signs that I am too fatigued to drive?
Some warning signs include:
- Trouble keeping your eyes focused
- Difficulty keeping your eyes open
- Difficulty concentrating
- Excessive yawning
- Head nodding
- Fixating on driving towards lights at night
- Being unable to recall driving the last few miles
How can I address fatigue?
There are many contributing factors to experiencing fatigue. It can affect the body in ways, sometimes with long-term impacts.
Good sleeping habits, a healthy diet, taking breaks as needed and good hydration can all be ways to help to avoid experiencing fatigue. Covering these topics in training is one effective way that businesses can help to educate their drivers.
Businesses that operate fleets of vehicles have a legal duty to ensure the health and safety of all employees, and may be responsible for what might happen if this is not done.
Useful Links
To find out more about our fuel cards click here – https://www.cambriancards.com/fuel-cards/
To learn how our telematics solutions will help your fleet become more efficient and effective, click here – https://www.cambriancards.com/telematics/
