The experts say that driving whilst you are tired has the same effect as driving under the influence of alcohol. This means that it is incredibly dangerous and a chance that isn’t worth taking. After all, you do not only risk your own life, you place the lives of other road users at risk too. Here at V12 Sports and Classics we believe that safe driving depends on your ability to concentrate and factors like tiredness impair this skill beyond capacity. Here are a few statistics that explain how dangerous drowsy driving can really be…

The Danger

When you are extremely tired, your brain sacrifices otherwise important inhibitions in order to preserve energy. That is why we often get confused or misunderstand people when we really need 50 winks. With this said, driving is a hands-on task which requires your full and undivided attention and if you are unable to provide it due to fatigue, you can become a danger to the road. After all, the inhibitions that are sacrificed are necessary in order to safely operate a vehicle and without them it is only a matter of time before you make a mistake.

Warning Signs

The experts say that driving drowsy has the same danger as driving under the influence of alcohol. After all, both reduce your reaction speed, how alert you are and your ability to safely operate a motor vehicle. Unfortunately, only one is illegal. Luckily, there are many signs on drowsy driving to watch out for in order to assess whether you or a driver should be behind the wheel or not. Symptoms include but are not limited to frequent blinking, daydreaming, drifting from lane to lane, missing your exit, yawning and restlessness.

Statistics

Research shows that over 60% of drivers have got behind the wheel even when they knew they were too tired to drive which is incredibly dangerous. After all, a lack of sleep can do a lot of damage to your cognition and being awake for 18 hours has a similar effect of a blood alcohol level of 0.5. In fact, science tells us that it may actually be somewhat safer to drive under the influence of alcohol because you can still react to danger, even if it is at a slower pace, whereas drowsy drivers are often so focussed on staying awake that they forget about the road all together. With this said, driving drunk is still an illegal and very dangerous activity that shouldn’t be carried out under any circumstances.

When you are tired your brain starts to become fuzzy and this leads to impairments in essential driving requirements such as memory, cognition, processing and reaction time. Ultimately, a reduction in these skills can lead to mistakes that comes with serious consequences so if you are tired behind the wheel, you should always stop the vehicle until you are alert enough to continue. To find out more information about driving safely, get in contact with a member of the V12 team today and ask about our used cars range!