A new campaign has been launched in Scotland to tackle the issue of driver fatigue.
The campaign has been devised by the Scottish Government and Road Safety Scotland on the back of statistics showing 14 people died on the country’s roads due to fatigue in 2018 – 9% of all road deaths.
However experts estimate that the real figure is much higher, with up to 30% of all collisions involving driver fatigue.
The new integrated campaign will run on multiple channels including social media and TV.
Among the key messages are that many of the counter measures drivers use – including opening a window and turning up the radio – have been shown to be ineffective.
The advertising features a close-up of a tired driver’s eye, with the road ahead reflected in it.
After taking 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 remains closed, resulting in a head on collision with another car and devastating consequences.
The campaign says: “We all know that we shouldn’t drive when we’re too tired, but sometimes weather, logistics, lack of alternatives or time constraints mean we do anyway.
“However, driving while fatigued or sleepy leads to impairment of driving performance by increasing reaction times and reducing attention, compromising decision-making and our ability to control the vehicle.
“It’s incredibly risky.”
Very interesting that the written part of the campaign extends the advice of the Highway Code considerably . Will the Scottish government seek to update the Highway Code accordingly?
The video is good but has none of the key points about reducing the risk .
Peter Whitfield, Liverpool
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