Road Safety

Fatigue at the Wheel

Don't Close Your Eyes! Stop in Time!*

Because they are less alert, fatigued drivers are a threat to themselves and other road users. If you are nodding off while driving, you may be in for an unpleasant wake-up... If you wake up at all, that is.

Are You an At-Risk Driver?
Generally speaking, the greatest number of at-risk drivers are found in the following categories:

• drivers under age 25, especially male drivers, since they require more sleep than older persons;
• adults age 50 and over, because they are more prone to sleep disorders;
• irregular shift workers (day, evening, night rotation shift; broken hours), because they average an hour and a half less sleep every day.

Also at risk are individuals who consume alcohol, medications and drugs, the effects of which are decreased alertness and increased fatigue.

Regardless of your age, however, if you do not get enough sleep, you accumulate a “sleep debt.” A debt of five hours has the same effect as consuming two or three glasses of wine. Moreover, after being awake for 19 hours, your reaction time can be up to twice as slow, which is worse than having a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.05. And if you meet both conditions, you are literally “drunk from fatigue.” You have become a public danger.

Learn to Recognize the Warning signs of Fatigue
If you answer yes to any of the following questions, do not close your eyes. Stop to rest as soon as possible!

Recognizing the warning signs of fatigue at the wheel

	Yes	No
Do you yawn often?
Are your eyes tingling?
Are you having trouble keeping your eyes open?
Are you experiencing periods of microsleep that last three to four seconds?
Are you having problems concentrating, staying alert?
Are you having problems maintaining a constant speed and trajectory?
Is your reaction time slowing down?
Are you having memory losses? (e.g. you can't remember the last few kilometres driven.)
Are you seeing things that are not there, particularly when there is fog or on monotonous stretches of highway? (e.g. you think you see an animal on the road.)

Critical Periods
The risk of falling asleep at the wheel is greatest in the early afternoon, between 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m., and at night, between midnight and 6:00 a.m. Why? Because a person's body follows a daily cycle that contains “lulls” during which the metabolism slows down, alertness decreases and fatigue sets in.

To Prevent Fatigue and Drowsiness

• Respect your capabilities when it comes to fatigue and sleep.
• Before you travel, get a good night's sleep of at least 8 hours.
• Take “lulls” into account when planning your trips. For instance, avoid driving in heavy traffic early in the afternoon.
• Have light meals and do not drink alcohol before driving.
• Learn to recognize the first signs of fatigue. Pull over to rest as soon as they appear.
• Never drive more than four hours in a row and, ideally, not more than two hours. Step out of your vehicle to relax and unwind your muscles.
• To avoid visual fatigue:
• at night, dim dashboard lighting: bright contrasts increase visual fatigue;
• do not place objects on the top of the dashboard: they cause reflections in the windshield and increase visual fatigue;
• regularly clean the windshield and side mirrors: improved visibility decreases visual fatigue.

Remember: rest is the only remedy for fatigue!

* Taken from "Conduire au Québec, été 2002"

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