Tired British motorists at risk as nights draw in

Extreme tiredness can make Britain’s drivers as much of a menace behind the wheel as a drunk driver according to leading insurer LV=.

Research conducted by Dr David Lewis of the Mind Lab reveals that tiredness can lead to a significant and potentially fatal decline in a driver’s ability to think straight and react quickly – two essential driving skills - even on a familiar journey.

The study, was carried out on a professional racing driver, a journalist and a busy parent and full time worker and revealed that all three of them exhibited reduced functions in concentration and reaction time when deprived of sleep for one night. Regular tests were conducted over the period including IQ tests, psychological and physiological responses and driving ability on a driving simulator.

The results:

Professional Racing Driver - the most dramatic effect was the decreasing level of achievement in an IQ test as tiredness increased.

Journalist - the reaction time decreased significantly at 8am – just at the time of day an exhausted driver might be commuting into work or driving the kids to school through rush-hour traffic.

Working parent – this result is both the most typical and the most worrying as it is the most representative scenario in terms of the average motorist. The IQ score plummeted by 60 points4, the driving simulator scores were far below the starting score, and on many occasions the driver ended up mounting the pavement and making serious errors behind the wheel.

“Since so many people now work long hours, with late finishes and early starts, it seems inevitable than a substantial proportion of motorists, especially at the start and end of each day, are suffering the effects of a sleep debt,” comments neuropsychologist Dr David Lewis. “The risks are further intensified by the fact that it is at these times that traffic volumes are greatest and the demands on drivers are most extreme. As the clocks go back, the earlier onset of darkness can add to hazards on the highway.

“Our brains respond to darkness by increasing the production of melatonin, a chemical that makes us feel sleepier. Added to that, the additional vigilance needed when driving in darkness, especially on poorly or unlit roads means the brain must work harder and so becomes fatigued more rapidly.

“Fatigue leads to a reduction in abilities including increasing forgetfulness, reduced concentration, slowed reaction times and loss of energy. It also produces an increase in the amount of blinking which, on a long drive, typically rises from approximately 15 to 40 blinks per minute and is associated with a dangerous decline in driver's vigilance.

“As sleepiness increases, visual awareness declines, and the eyes slowly roll up under the closing eyelids, which then slowly open as the eyes roll back down again. One complete eye-roll occupies about two seconds and is usually immediately followed by another. These events are termed "microsleeps" , and during them consciousness is hazy and the brain briefly loses contact with reality.

“Although only brief, in a car travelling at speed, even a microsleep lasting only a couple of seconds can place the driver, any passengers and other road users in extreme danger. It is found that in many single-vehicle accidents the driver made absolutely no attempt to brake before impact because they were experiencing a ‘micro-sleep’.

“It is clear that such microsleeps represents a growing hazard to motorists and that the risk increases, once the clocks go back, among drivers already mentally fatigued as a result of having too little sleep.”

As the clocks go back this weekend LV= is urging increased caution amongst motorists as longer nights, busier weekends, Christmas parties and darker days may make motorists much more susceptible to driving whilst tired.

Andrew Beard at LV= said: “Driving and tiredness are a lethal combination and although many drivers may think they are fine to get behind the wheel, our research confirms tiredness does significantly reduce a driver’s ability - which could be risking lives of road users.

”Turning the clocks back signals the start of winter with less daylight hours and increasingly longer hours of darkness. Coupled with the beginning of the party season in the run up to Christmas, this means that we could be putting more pressure on ourselves to drive when tired. If drivers understood that they are just as impaired driving when tired as they are when over the legal alcohol level, more people would think twice about staying behind the wheel when feeling tired or sleepy.”