Working in partnership with an energy supplement provider, Brake, the road safety charity, has launched a campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of driving while tired.
Ideas they are putting forward to raise awareness include wearing pyjamas to work, having an extra long coffee break or a work-at-home ‘duvet day’.
The free campaign resource pack includes a poster and leaflet covering issues relating to driver fatigue. For more information contact Brake on 01484 550054 or: wakeup@brake.org.uk
Idris, you are absolutely right to highlight this issue. Re: my comment on this matter.
Charles Dunn RoadDriver.co.uk
0
Am I the only one to be as concerned by Brake’s campaign being sponsored by a company with a clear profit motive (encouraging tired drivers to drink their products rather than take a rest or sleep)?
For many years but not for some time I used to drive long distances, often in the dark, in addition to working long hours and I was all too familiar with the symptoms – eyelids drooping, loss of concentration etc (and as one other comment implies, all the more so when bored due to lack of anything much to do). I learned not to fight it but to pull over and sleep. That I am still here and never crashed in those circumstances shows that I made the right judgment, but how close to the edge I might have been I will never know.
Is there any credible evidence that these “energy drinks” help?
Idris Francis
0
Some motorcyclists suffer from fatigue. There are in a year a number of so called charitable runs of between 1000 miles in a day (24 hrs) to something like 4000 miles in 3/4 days.
Not only do the participants fail to sleep, certainly on the 24hr one, but they also have to exceed the speed limits sometimes in order to reach certain check points during the ride.
One some occasions riders have been to a track day and spent some hours racing round a track and all the adrenaline surges that take place, only to find that on the way home they no longer can ride properly, feeling tired and unco-ordinated, lathargic and lacking judgement. All these feelings are due to adrenaline overdose on the track that eventually wears off and they then can suffer. Quite possible to have an acccident when that takes over and maybe kill themselves or someone else.
bob craven Lancs
0
Is there a correlation between tired commercial vehicle drivers and their lack of stimulation from being limited to 50/60mph on roads/motorways? I believe that lorry drivers nodding off is more common than it used to be. Anyone concur?
Eric Bridgstock, Independent Road Safety Research, St Albans
0
Not quite the weather for sleeping in pyjamas. Not sure Brake want thousands of naked distractions making their way to work. Am sure I won’t have to wait too long for the scientific answer to inattention due to nudity. On a more serious note Charles is right. If your body says no, then don’t force your body into doing something it is not capable of.
Bob
0
I hope that this campaign message by Brake is not misunderstood. If you are tired or have had insufficient sleep, you should not drive. Drinking a Quick Energy drink should not be seen as acceptable alternative to driving tired.
Charles Dunn RoadDriver.co.uk
0