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Driver sleepiness is thought to cause at least 10% of all road accidents and 1 in 5 accidents on trunk roads.
Many of these accidents are work related involving trucks and goods vehicles.
Most sleep related accidents are on motorways and trunk roads.
Most sleep related accidents happen when the body’s natural clock is at its low points: between 2am and 6am and mid afternoon between 2pm and 4pm.
Road accidents relating to sleep are also more likely to result in death and serious injury as the accidents occur when the driver, having fallen asleep, fails to brake.
Falling asleep at the wheel is preceded by feelings of extreme sleepiness, which drivers are aware of, but often ignore.
Men aged 18-30 are most at risk, and account for around 50% of sleep related accidents.
It is considered to claim more lives on the road than alcohol.
Each year on average, more than 3,000 people are killed and more than 250,000 injured on UK roads, with drowsiness considered to be a major factor.

Professional driving: before you drive
As a professional driver, you know that the Highway Code says you should always arrive at work sufficiently rested to undertake your duties. Your daily driving duties have been planned and timed to conform with rules and regulations aimed at avoiding sleepiness problems.

When you're driving
If for any reason you feel sleepiness or suffer any other symptoms whilst driving, the safety of yourself and your passengers should never be put at risk. If you feel that your driving may be in any way impaired, it is important to stop at a safe place, and prevent any risk to yourself or your passengers.

Ongoing problems
If recurring problems of tiredness arise, seek medical advice.

We hope this information will help you both as a professional driver, and as a private motorist.

The UK's leading Sleep Research Centre at Loughborough University has investigated many aspects of driver sleepiness and shown that such accidents are avoidable.

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