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 Give yourself a break
5minutesaway.co.uk has teamed up with the Department for Transport to help keep you safe on the road. Driver tiredness accounts for up to 20% of the accidents on Britain's more monotonous roads, such as motorways. So it's easy to see why we're keen to get involved. Just look at the facts:
- Sleep-related vehicle accidents are more likely to result in serious injury than the average road accident.
- Men aged 30 years and under are more likely to have a sleep-related vehicle accident than other drivers.
- Driving between the hours of 2.00 and 7.00am presents a particular risk, as this is when you are naturally more prone to tiredness.
- Many tired motorists continue to drive, even when they are consciously 'fighting sleep' by doing things to keep them awake such as winding down the window.
However, opening a window or turning the radio up does little to prevent a driver from falling asleep at the wheel. But there are some effective steps you can take to help keep yourself alert:
- Plan long journeys to include a 15-minute break every two hours.
- Avoid making long trips between midnight and 6am when your natural alertness is low.
- Be aware of the risks of driving tired if you have to get up unusually early to start a trip, or have a long drive home after a full day's work.
- Try to find a safe place to stop and rest at least once every two hours - but not on the hard shoulder.
- When you take a break, drink two cups of coffee, where possible - or another high-caffeine drink - and take a 15 minute nap while waiting for the caffeine to kick in. This should be enough to get you on your way and keep you going for another two hours.
We wish all of our customers a safe journey, as we continue to work in partnership with the Department for Transport to reduce the number of people driving tired on Britain's roads.
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