New campaign warns drivers: Driving Tired Kills
A powerful new campaign by The Scottish Government and Road Safety Scotland* to tackle the serious issue of driver fatigue, launched today with a clear message for all drivers – Driving Tired Kills.
Fatigue is a contributory factor in crashes which kill or seriously injure around 50 people every year in Scotland.1
In 2018, 14 people died on Scotland’s roads due to fatigue (nine per cent of all road deaths),2 however experts estimate that the real figure is much higher, with up to 30 per cent of all collisions involving driver fatigue.3
Sleep related collisions are around 50 per cent more likely to result in death or serious injury as they tend to be high speed impacts.4
Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Infrastructure and Connectivity, Michael Matheson said: “We are committed to achieving safer road travel in Scotland for everyone. Driver fatigue is a severe problem that causes too many serious and fatal road collisions each year.
“Drivers should plan their journeys well in advance, ensure they are well rested before setting out and take breaks every two hours. It’s simple yet powerful advice which can help save many lives on Scotland’s roads.”
Many of the counter measures drivers use (opening a window, turning up the radio) have been shown to be ineffective. A two second micro-sleep at 30 mph can result in complete transition from one lane to the next and you will be unable to notice or react to a child stepping out on the road5.
Sleep expert Christine Poulter, honorary strategic clinical advisor, Society of Occupational Medicine said: “Fatigue is a major safety issue on our roads. Sleep deprivation can result in micro-sleeps at the wheel causing fatalities for the driver, passengers and other unsuspecting road users or pedestrians.
“Most adults require between seven to nine hours sleep every night; five hours sleep is not enough to function safely. It’s important to keep regular sleep patterns when you can, especially if you are working shifts. Going to bed and getting up at roughly the same time, will programme your body to sleep better to help combat fatigue.”
Drivers often experience early signs of feeling tired such as yawning, eyes dropping and head-nodding, and should stop for a rest as soon as it’s safe to do so.
Blair Boyd, workplace fatigue expert and chartered health and safety practitioner said: “Having felt the effects of fatigue while working shifts, I would never get behind the wheel when tired. The consequences are just too great.
“The effects of fatigue are comparable to driving under the influence of alcohol, which we would not accept in society. With better education and understanding, employers can work to reduce the risk of driver fatigue by planning and managing workloads and shift patterns.”
The new multi-media marketing campaign will run on multiple channels including TV, digital, outdoor, radio, PR and social media.
The thought-provoking advertising features a striking close-up of a tired driver’s eye, with the road ahead reflected in it. After a long blink, the road reappears in the eye, however the car drifts towards the centre of the road as the eye droops further and finally remains closed, resulting in a head on collision with another car and devastating consequences.
For more information visit roadsafety.scot/fatigue or check out the Road Safety Scotland Facebook and Twitter (@roadsafetyscot) pages.