Friday, 11 September 2009 09:50

‘Never Drive Tired’ is a key message from the Sussex Safer Roads Partnership (SSRP) this autumn. It can be seen on bus backs, in local press, heard on the radio and there will be high profile reminder stops by the Sussex Police Casualty Reduction Team in the coming weeks.

As the nights draw in and weather conditions on the roads deteriorate, it would be easy to believe that driving while fatigued overnight or in the early morning would be when it’s most dangerous. However in Sussex, approximately two-thirds of fatigue related collisions actually happen in daylight conditions. These collisions can occur amongst people of all ages in the County.

STOP

You know you’re worn out when you start yawning repeatedly. If you’re on the road and feeling tired, it’s already too late. You must find a service station or rest place to stop at, as soon as possible. Ideally, you should plan your journey. This is so that you can take a 15 minute break, at least every two hours. Try to get a good night’s sleep before going on a long journey. The biggest risks are when you get up unusually early or have a long drive home after a particularly hard day at work.

REFRESH

Do some stretching exercises if safe to do so or take a short walk. Exercise helps to wake you up, by getting the blood pumping. Grab a drink. Water is essential for your brain’s function. It helps to make you feel more awake. Eat a small snack. This will help you feel revived.  Have a nap. But take no longer than 20 minutes. This is a refreshing power nap but any more could make you too sleepy to drive safely. Drink two cups of coffee, if you have no other alternative and only as a short time measure. Change drivers if possible. A journey shared is a journey halved.

GO

Once you’ve stopped and refreshed, you should be ready to get back behind the wheel. If you still have far to go, you’ll have to stop again within two hours (at the maximum) to prevent yourself becoming too tired to continue to drive. If you’ve been fatigued and had to take a 20 minute nap, you need to get off the road in the very near future to get a proper sleep. Just because you’ve stopped and refreshed doesn’t mean that other drivers have - be aware afternoons, are the peak time in Sussex for fatigue related collisions. Should you see anyone who you think might be dozing off at the wheel, stop in a safe location and call the police.

 

Remember…Never Drive Tired!

 
If you are particularly concerned about any local anti-social driving/riding issues. This could be: Drink or drug driving, mobile phone use at the wheel and continued use of excess speed. Please contact Sussex Police’s Operation Crackdown Hotline on 01243 642222 or go www.OperationCrackdown.org.

The SSRP is engaged in a number of different activities to promote road safety education, publicity and projects such as: The use of SID’s (Speed Indicator Devices), The Young Book of Road Safety -‘Bump to Five’ and for the County’s bikers ‘Don’t be a Spoil Sport’. There is also the continued use of safety cameras (fixed and mobile), as another key method of achieving the aim of reduced casualties and fatalities on the roads of Sussex.

The SSRP consists of East Sussex and West Sussex County Councils, Brighton and Hove City Council, Sussex Police, the Highways Agency, HM Courts Service – Sussex, East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service and West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service.