By DPA
Wellington : Driver fatigue is one of the most underestimated dangers on the road.
You don’t have to actually fall asleep at the wheel to cause an accident that can kill you, your passengers or others on the road.
You can be fatigued enough for it to seriously impair your driving long before you nod off at the wheel. When you are fatigued your reactions are much slower, your ability to concentrate on driving is reduced, and it takes longer to interpret and understand what is happening with other traffic.
And fatigue-related crashes are often more severe than others because drivers’ reaction times are delayed or they have failed to make any manoeuvres to avoid a crash.
Add fatigue to alcohol or speeding and it’s a lethal mix.
These are the core messages New Zealand police and road safety authorities are hammering into motorists over the Christmas-New Year period which marks the start of the summer holidays Down Under.
They have declared driver fatigue a serious road safety issue, blamed for more than 40 deaths and nearly 1,000 injuries in road crashes in 2006.
Over the period 2002-06, driver fatigue was identified as being responsible for 256 deaths or 12 percent of fatal crashes, and more than 4,350 injuries.
New Zealand authorities say that recent international research has suggested that driver fatigue is under-represented in accident statistics, and some estimates show that it could be a contributing factor in 20 to 24 percent of fatal crashes.
A handful of government departments, including the police and the Accident Compensation Commission have combined forces to draw up an inter-agency strategy to make drivers aware of the dangers in a hard-hitting press, radio and TV campaign.
The campaign points out several signs that show you are fatigued when driving. They include:
– Blinking or yawning frequently,
– Having trouble keeping your head up,
– Eyes closing for a moment or going out of focus,
– Having wandering or disconnected thoughts,
– Realizing that you’ve slowed down unintentionally,
– Braking too late,
– Not being able to remember driving the last few kilometres,
– And the most dangerous warning sign of all:
Drifting over the median line onto the other side of the road.
Transport Safety Minister Harry Duynhoven said that it was the first time peak time television commercials had been used to raise awareness of the risks of driving tired.
The ads urge drivers to recognize the symptoms of fatigue and by including young children in the back seat graphically illustrate the potentially deadly consequences of failing to acknowledge the warning signs.
Officials say it is essential that drivers get plenty of sleep before a long journey and they should drive during normal waking hours.
To manage fatigue they should:
-Take regular rest stops every couple of hours,
-Share the driving with other passengers,
-Eat light meals or fruit throughout the journey and drink water,
-If feeling tired during a trip, a “power nap” of 20 to 40 minutes is an effective way of reducing sleepiness.