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Not enough is being done to reduce road accident fatalities where a sleepy truck driver is involved.
This article appeared in the Yorkshire Post earlier this week:
On average, six people are killed and 70 are seriously injured on UK roads every day.
There are various causes for these accidents including speeding, drivers getting distracted and drink-driving. They can also involve a driver nodding off at the wheel.
If you’re driving on a motorway at 70 mph you travel 200 metres in six seconds, if you nod off that’s enough time to veer across three lanes of traffic, down an embankment and onto another road or train track. It’s a sobering thought. We’ve all seen the motorway signs warning that “tiredness kills” but how many of us actually pay them much heed?
According to a new study by road safety charity Brake and Cambridge Weight Plan, one in eight drivers has nodded off at the wheel in the past year. These so-called microsleeps occur when someone nods off from between two and 30 seconds, often without realising .
The survey, which questioned 1,000 drivers, found that one in four admitted to starting a journey when they already felt drowsy, with 86 per cent admitting they didn’t follow advice on dealing with tiredness.
More than a quarter (29 per cent), also put their own lives and those of others at risk by continuing their journey after noticing the first signs of drowsiness, while 13 per cent of those surveyed reported suffering from a health condition such as obstructive sleep apnoea which in some cases can cause the sufferer to fall asleep without warning.
Brake is now calling on the Government to renew efforts to raise awareness of driver tiredness as a major cause of death and serious injury, and improve motorway facilities so that responsible drivers are able to stop when they need to.
Julie Townsend, Brake’s campaigns director, reiterates the point that tiredness kills. “Driving a vehicle is a huge responsibility that must be taken seriously. That means stopping when we feel drowsy and certainly never starting a journey tired. It’s a matter of life and death.
“We still have widespread misunderstanding of how to prevent driver tiredness, and ignorance about factors like sleep apnoea, a condition that can be treated. These messages still need to get through to the public, which is why we are calling for renewed efforts from the Government to tackle this issue urgently.” According to the Department of Transport tired drivers cause one in five fatal motorway crashes. These tend to be high-speed crashes because the driver falls asleep and doesn’t brake before crashing, which means there is a higher chance of someone being killed or seriously injured. The causes of tiredness while driving are numerous and complex. Factors can include insufficient sleep, sleep disorders, the length of time spent driving, as well as alcohol and drugs and the monotony of being sat behind a wheel for hours on end.
But research shows there are warning signs, such as increased difficulty concentrating, yawning and heavy eyelids. Obstructive sleep apnoea is a common cause of tiredness and is linked to our body mass index which is why overweight drivers are more at risk. Although the condition is treatable it can have tragic consequences.
In August, 2006, Toby Tweddell was waiting in a queue of traffic on the M62 on his way to work when his car was hit from behind by a lorry. It was struck with such force that it rammed right under a pickup truck in front. It took the emergency services an hour to cut him free from the wreckage and he died in hospital as a result of his injuries. The lorry driver who caused the crash by falling asleep at the wheel was later diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnoea.
Following the inquest, the coroner made recommendations to the Government including better screening for the condition among truck drivers. Toby’s family are campaigning for better awareness of sleep apnoea and for changes to the medical licensing of drivers to help improve the identification of undiagnosed sufferers. “Sleep apnoea is more widespread than is generally recognised and it is more widespread amongst the professional driving community, because they are more likely to be overweight,” says Seb Schmoller, Toby’s uncle who lives in Sheffield.
He believes changes can be made to help cut the risk of others having to endure the nightmare that his family has suffered. “Something could be done to lessen the likelihood of people being killed on our roads, but it requires concerted action by the Government and it requires pressure to be put on drivers and their employers,” he says.
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by RockRpsgt on
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In the states the Department of Transportation(DOT) is requireing that all Comercial License holders(CDL) have sleep studies. If a sleep disorder is found treatment compliance is required to maintain the license.
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Permalink Reply by Richard Mundy on
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Since September 2009 it has become compulsory for every HGV driver to have a 5-yearly medical, which asks the relevant questions on all aspects of his physical and mental health. Alongside this, the driver has to undergo 37.5 hours of training over the same 5-year period. Satisfactory outcomes from the training and a positive medical will result in the driver receiving a Certificate of Professional Competence (a CPC). After 2014, a driver without a CPC will not be able to get a job as a truck-driver. This is a major step forward. Hitherto, to get his HGV driving-licence, the driver had to pass a driving-test and pass a fairly superficial medical. He would take a second medical at the age 42, that was all that was required.
Following this change, a number of medical practices have sprung up offering 'Drivers' Medicals'. To have a medical with your GP would cost around £40.00 - £50.00; the 'Drivers' Medicals' charge very much less than that, around £28.00. Bear in mind the latter would not have the drivers' personal medical history in front of him when carrying out the examination; but the lower price would make these attractive.
These medical examinations require 'tick-box' answers and nothing more, relying very much on the drivers' honesty in giving his answers. So, in answer to the question 'Do you have Obstructive Sleep Apnoea?', the response is either 'Yes' or 'No'. He is not tested for OSA and the doctor, who is a complete stranger as far as any connection with the driver is concerned, ticks the box according to his answer and moves on to the next question.
This is fundamentally flawed: the driver is not examined for OSA, he probably doesn't know what it is, and given the choice of answer and human behaviour, he will most likely say 'No'.
The US has much the best solution: in the UK, there should be a five-yearly test specifically for OSA, to take place at a sleep-clinic. If the treatment requires CPAP Therapy, the usage and compliance can be downloaded from the machine and monitored to satisfy the DfT. But it will take a change in the law to make it happen.
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Sleep apnea test for DOT is pretty simple. If your neck is more than 16 inches in diameter or you answer yes to snoring you are sent for a sleep study. I wish that it was for safety reasons. Unfortunately the insurance companies have realized that a sleep study is cheaper than an accident. We take our victories where we can. The potential for moneys paid out always outway safety in America.
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The auto industry is a perfect example of how things work. If a flaw is found in a car a special analyst is sent in to evaluate the problem. If the cost of a recall is more than the cost of the bad publicity and lawsuits nothing is done and people die.
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Permalink Reply by Kath Hope on
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Thanks for posting this Richard and I'm guessing you're a great advocate on this subject, which is great! Here's a link to a pdf document that Sleep Apnoea Trust have created to help people.
http://www.sleep-apnoea-trust.org/media/SATA%20Driving%20%20OSA.pdf
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Hi Rock,
Are you sure you mean that? - 'Unfortunately the insurance companies have realised that a sleep-study is cheaper than an accident' How come 'unfortunately'? I am looking for figures for the average cost of a motorway fatality: how many sleep-studies & CPAPs could you buy for the price of one motorway pile-up?
Further, I am trying to raise funding for my Truckers' Health campaign from a large UK insurance co., so far without success. Stricter health controls should surely lead to fewer accidents, the insurance companies have fewer pay-outs which might lead to lower premiums. Am I missing something, Rock?
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No you are not missing anything Richard. I have been burning the candle at both ends. There is alot going on right now. When I am tired my fingers and my brain do not communicate well. I actually had 2 different lines of thought working themselves out during that post. On the one hand I was trying to explain our system. On the other I was remembering how mad I was with the insurance companies for putting more importance on saving money than lives. The American sleep industry has been reporting on the pandemic of apnea for over 30 years. Sometime within the last 5 years the insurance comanies figured out how much money they can save by making commercial drivers get sleep evaluations. The new regulations had nothing to do with saving lives. In the national sleep text book there is a section on how much money is lost due to sleepiness. There is nothing in that same text about lives lost. Thus my rant on the auto-industry. Like I said we have to take our victories where we can get them.
The original post should have started "fortunately". Thanks for pointing it out.
Richard Mundy said:Hi Rock,
Are you sure you mean that? - 'Unfortunately the insurance companies have realised that a sleep-study is cheaper than an accident' How come 'unfortunately'? I am looking for figures for the average cost of a motorway fatality: how many sleep-studies & CPAPs could you buy for the price of one motorway pile-up?
Further, I am trying to raise funding for my Truckers' Health campaign from a large UK insurance co., so far without success. Stricter health controls should surely lead to fewer accidents, the insurance companies have fewer pay-outs which might lead to lower premiums. Am I missing something, Rock?
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