New study could pave way for ‘tiredness test’ at the roadside
RESEARCHERS in Australia are targeting a major cause of traffic accidents with a new blood test that can show whether a driver is impaired by a lack of sleep.
Evidence claims that having less than five hours of sleep makes a driver as risky at the wheel as somebody who is over the breathalyser limit for alcohol in some parts of the world. Here in the UK, data suggests that tiredness could be a factor in
20 per cent of all vehicle accidents, and up to 25 per cent of those that cause fatalities or serious injury.
So far the Australian team has identified five chemical biomarkers in the bloodstream that can tell them whether subjects have been awake for 24 hours or more, with an accuracy rate of 99 per cent. The researchers say that more study is required in order to determine whether these markers can reveal the number of hours of sleep a person has actually had.
Professor Shantha Rajaratnam told The Guardian that although forensic tests to make determinations could be available to laboratories within two years, roadside kits for the police would be much further away. “With the right investment, I reckon that within five years we will be able to implement these biomarkerbased tests – at least in safety-critical industries such as trucking, commercial aviation and mining,” he said.
The UK Department for Transport says it’s not currently considering sleep tests or a legal minimum sleep level for drivers, but confirms it has ‘noted’ the research.
“In 2021, 467 people were either killed or seriously injured in collisions where fatigue was a contributory factor,” the Road Safety Trust noted, adding, “any work to reduce the impact is welcome.”