Holiday drivers warned: don’t die from tiredness

Lifestyle | Article

As the summer holidays approach, road safety officers at Peterborough City Council are distributing leaflets warning drivers of the dangers of falling asleep at the wheel and urging them to take regular breaks on their journeys.

“The ‘monotony’ of motorway driving can induce tiredness without drivers being aware,” says road safety officer Clair George.

Research commissioned by the government found that drivers falling asleep at the wheel are responsible for 20 per cent of collisions on motorways or similar roads and one in ten crashes on all of Britain’s roads.

“An estimated 300 people a year are killed in accidents when drivers have fallen asleep. Drivers who fall asleep are 50 per cent more likely to die or suffer serious injury because they do not react by braking or swerving before an impact.

“With the bank holiday approaching many drivers will undertake longer journeys. We urge them to take regular breaks to ensure that their summer holidays do not end before they have started.

“People who fall asleep at the wheel risk killing themselves, their passengers and other innocent victims. There are plenty of warning signs of tiredness, such as yawning, eye closing, head titling forward, difficulty concentrating and lane drifting. Opening the window or turning up the radio will do little to prevent drivers from falling asleep at the wheel.”

August 2007 - Peterborough UK Community Website