Fatigue is the physical and mental impairment brought about by inadequate rest over a period of time. Ideally, each individual needs seven or eight hours sleep each night. Drivers who are suffering from sleep debt are at risk of ‘nodding off’ whilst driving and substantially increasing their risk of being involved in a crash.
If a driver persists in fighting sleep while driving the impairment level is the same as driving while over the drink drive limit, according to the Road Safety Authority. Eventually a driver will drift in and out of consciousness and experience ‘micro-sleeps’ which can last for up to 10 seconds. Drivers can have micro-sleeps with their eye wide open.
Driver fatigue can severely impair judgement and can affect anyone. It is particularly dangerous because one of the symptoms is decreased ability to judge our own level of tiredness. Other symptoms vary between drivers, but may include:
- yawning
- poor concentration
- restlessness
- drowsiness
- slow reactions
- boredom
- feeling irritable
- making fewer or larger steering corrections
- missing road signs
- micro-sleeps
- having difficulty staying in the lane
AN EMPLOYER’S RESPONSIBILITY
Employers have a legal responsibility to provide and maintain a safe fleet and to plan safe journeys for employees who drive in the course of their work. When drawing up a safety statement, employers must identify all hazards and risks for all employees, including those employees whose place of work is a vehicle. When assessing the risks imposed by driving for a living, employers must apply the principles of prevention set out in the General Application Regulations.
In a newsletter issued by barrister Raymond Byrne he state headline grabbing risk factors – speed, fatigue, driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs, not wearing seat belts and using mobile while driving.
Among a range of interesting figures which emerged in the newsletter were:
- company vehicle drivers rank third in the fatal accidents occupational risk list
- the death rate per 100,000 in road traffic accidents in Ireland is six, compared to thirteen in the UK
- company vehicle drivers are 49% more likely to have an accident than ordinary drivers
- one in there company vehicle drivers will have an accident each year
- 95% of accidents are due to driver error
- Driver fatigue plays a significant part in up to 25% of accidents on motorways, longer dual carriageways and other fast roads
- Fatigue is more likely to cause accidents at certain times, such as from midnight to 2am, in the early hours from 4am to 6am and in the afternoon between 2pm and 4pm
- Workers coming off shift at 7am are more at risk than workers finishing at other times
Training
The business benefits of driver training have been highlighted in recent times. In research evidence, one company studied the accident rates prior to training of 11.54% per million miles compared to 9.34% in the year after training.
The key requirements are that you must not drive:
- Without a break for more than 4.5 hours. After driving for 4.5 hours, a break of at least 45 minutes is mandatory. You can distribute that break over the 4.5 hours.
- For more than nine hours per day or 56 hours per week. This may be extended to 10 hours no more than twice during a week
- More than 90 hours in two consecutive weeks
There are also strict regulations regarding the average working time and the amount of rest that must be taken daily and weekly.
What to do if you are a tired driver
- NEVER DRIVE IF YOU’RE FIGHTING SLEEP.
- When you start fighting sleep at the wheel, your impairment is as dangerous as driving over the legal alcohol limit.
- Stop and take a nap for 15 minutes – (set your mobile phone alarm).
- to really make the most of your break, take a Caffeine drink before the nap (150mg of Caffeine e.g. 2 cups of coffee).
- After the nap, get some fresh air and stretch your legs.
- By following all of the above advice you should be able to drive for another hour or more.
