Campaign aimed at tired drivers

A powerful new campaign to tackle driver fatigue launched this week.

And it had a clear message for all drivers – Driving Tired Kills.

Fatigue is a contributor y factor in crashes which kill or seriously injure around 50 people every year in Scotland.

I n 2 0 1 8 , 1 4 peopl e di e d on Scotland’s roads due t o fatigue (nine per cent of all road deaths) – but exper t s estimate the real figure to be much higher, with up to 30 per cent of all collisions involving driver fatigue.

Now a new multi- media marketing campaign by the S c o t t i s h G ov e r nment a nd Road Sa f e t y S c o t l a nd wi l l r un o n mult i pl e c ha nnel s including TV, digital, outdoor, radio, PR and social media.

Transport Secretary Michael Matheson said the government was “committed” to achieving safer road travel in Scotland for everyone.

He added: “Driver fatigue is a severe problem and causes too many serious and fatal road collisions each year.

“Drivers should plan their j o ur ney s wel l i n a dv a nc e, ensure they are well rested before setting out and take breaks every two hours.”

Many of t he 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 road.

Sleep expert Christine Poulter from the 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.”

Drivers experiencing 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.

T h e t h o u g h t- p r ov o k i n g 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 t h e c a r d r i f t s t oward s t h e centre of the road as the eye droops f ur t her and f i nal l y r e mai n s c l o s e d , r e s u l t i n g in a head on collision with another car and devastating consequences.