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Falling asleep behind the wheel, more common than you think

Drowsy motorists are a danger on the road. A recent survey was conducted on this very topic and the results are horrifying to say the least.

Recent research shows that more than three million British drivers have fallen asleep behind the wheel in the past year. According to a survey for LV = car insurance, one in ten or 3.4 million of 38 million UK motorists fell asleep while driving.

This contributed to atleast 3,357 fatigue related accidents that have been reported over the past five years. The main causes of this were driving on long and monotonous roads, a lack of sleep, driving long distances to a holiday destination or driving after finishing a late work shift.

Data from the survey showed that 19% of people who took the survey confessed that they had hardly been able to keep their eyes open while driving, it was also found that nearly 28% had driven while drowsy.

Another statistic that may not sit well with some, 33% of people who were affected by this problem were men while only 12% were women. With drivers covering an average distance of 26 metres at speeds of 80km/h when they fell asleep behind the wheel, it has been estimated that sleeping motorists have covered a total of more than 88,514km in the last 12 months.

Managing Director of LV = car insurance, John O’Roarke said, “ Falling asleep while driving, even momentarily, is extremely dangerous but taking regular breaks from driving can help prevent it. If you know you are going to be driving long distance, plan ahead and make sure you have sufficient time to rest.”

Driving, is a privilege not a right. As such, every driver needs to behave responsibly while on the road. If he or she does fall asleep while driving, not only could that person easily veer of and slam into a lamp post, but could just as easily ram into innocent on coming motorists severely injuring them.