Driving under the influence is of course dangerous, but the risk of fatigued driving is sometimes underestimated. A new British study is mapping out what this does to driving behaviour.
You may know it from a long holiday ride or a long drive after a bad night: you sit behind the wheel with big eyes and notice that it is high time for a nap or a cup of coffee. No doubt you also know that you really shouldn’t take any risks with it. There are enough stories of people who doze off behind the wheel, with all the consequences that entails. It is sometimes said that an overtired driver can be just as dangerous as a drunk driver. A new British study shows that your driving behavior does indeed suffer from sleep deprivation, even if you think you are still alert.
autovia took the test by putting two motoring journalists behind the wheel in a simulator. One was as fit as a daisy, the other had been awake for more than 24 hours. Although the second indicated that he still had the idea to be alert, his driving behavior showed something different. To begin with, he drove much faster than his colleague. An average of 62 km/h on the same route as his colleague drove an average of 38 km/h. The speed limit was exceeded several times. The biggest miss came on a B road. There was a sign that stated that the speed limit was 90 km/h. The British journalist did not think twice and drove onto the road at 90 mph (144 km/h), even though it was clearly not suitable for such speeds.
What a researcher from Southampton University (who observed both drivers) further noticed that the tired journalist showed a much more restless driving behavior than the rested one. For example, there were constantly quite strong steering corrections and he braked more often and more suddenly. The researcher states that the tired driver was unable to think far ahead and anticipate approaching danger. A response was even occasionally just accelerate and abruptly steer, instead of calmly adjusting the speed. One example was that he suddenly swerved into the other lane to avoid a pedestrian, but did not brake or even let go of the gas.
The tired journalist says he is quite surprised by the results of his ride. “I thought it went pretty well, because I felt quite alert and hadn’t had an accident. But the analysis showed that I had actually driven very badly. My reactions were much less flexible than usual. I no longer thought ahead and didn’t plan anything ahead, as you normally should.” It may not have been the most comprehensive or surprising study, but it does show what fatigue can do to your driving.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl