Flourish Health & Wellbeing eMag - Latest Edition - Flipbook - Page 42
SLEEP
fatigue
driving safely
When Sleep Drops,
Risk Rises
BY AUSTRALIAN AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION
(AAA) - BASED ON RESEARCH LED BY
MONASH UNIVERSITY ACCIDENT RESEARCH
CENTRE. Research funded by the mobility clubs
of Australia - NRMA, RACV, RACQ, RAA, RAC,
RACT & AANT
For many drivers fatigue
is one of the most
underestimated risks on
the road. Driving tired
reduces focus, slows
reaction time, affects
mood, clouds judgement
and make it harder
to respond safely to
changing conditions.
Many people believe they
can push through tiredness,
especially if they have driven
tired before and arrived
safely. The problem is fatigue
can build quietly. A driver
may feel in control until
performance suddenly drops.
Fatigue related crash risk
increases sharply when
sleep is reduced.
Compared with seven
hours of sleep, four to 昀椀ve
hours of sleep is linked
with a 4.5 times higher
crash risk. Under four
hours of sleep is linked
with an 11 times higher
crash risk.
Driving tired can affect
you in ways that is
comparable to driving
under the in昀氀uence of
alcohol. Less than 昀椀ve
hours of sleep can impair
you in a way that is
similar to a blood alcohol
level of .05, and four
hours and that effect
doubles to the equivalent
of 0.12.
Risk can also be higher
at predictable times. The
highest risk windows are
between 2am and 4am
and then at 1 to 3pm,
when crashes are much
more likely than at other
times of day.
Fatigue Starts Before You
Nod O昀昀
A microsleep may last only
seconds, but on the road
that can be enough to
cause serious harm.
At 100 km/h, a three
second microsleep means
travelling more than 80
metres with your eyes
closed. That’s a long way to
go without being in control.
