Driver fatigue may have contributed to the deaths of more than 200 people over a five-year period, new research revealed today.
The Road Safety Authority (RSA) research suggests that one-fifth of all road deaths may be caused by tiredness. The most dangerous time for fatigue-related accidents are between 2am and 6am and in the mid-afternoon between 2pm and 4pm.
Noel Brett, chief executive of the RSA
Statistics show men aged between 18 to 30 are in the high-risk category due to over confidence about their driving ability.
If a person continues to drive while fighting sleep they will eventually drift in and out of consciousness and experience "micro sleeps" that can last for up to 10 seconds.
Drivers can experience micro sleep with their eyes open and they have no control of the vehicle at those moments.
Professor Jim Horne, head of the sleep-research laboratory at Loughborough University in Britain, said said driver fatigue could be a factor in one in five crashes in Ireland.
The RSA research was published at the announcement of the body's winter-safety campaign, which will run over the next few months.
"People who are most at risk of being involved in a driver fatigue related crash are drivers who try to fight the effects of sleep when driving. Turning up the volume on the radio and opening the window do not work," according to RSA chief executive Noel Brett.
Mr Brett urged people to stop driving as soon as they realise they are fighting the urge to go to sleep. "The best way to cope with this problem is to stop driving, park in a safe place, drink two cups of coffee and then take a 15-minute nap," he said.