The silly season is upon us and with it normally comes less sleep which can lead to fatigue. There is only one way of preventing fatigue and it’s getting enough sleep.

7½ hours of sleep is generally recognised as an average and normal need. If you get much less than this, you will suffer fatigue. You may be one of those drivers who work very long hours and feel you don’t have time for 7½ hours sleep. But you can’t just sleep and drive and drive and sleep. You need to wash, eat, do domestic things and talk to other people. If you have little spare time, you will probably do these at the expense of sleep. A study of heavy vehicle drivers in WA showed that on any one day about half the drivers on the road worked more than 14 hours, and about 30% worked more than 16 hours. This left only 8 hours for everything else they had to do. 12% said they got less than 4 hours sleep during the trip and 30% said that they got less than 6 hours.

Drivers who got less than 6 hours sleep experienced 4 times as many dangerous situations while they were driving. So, getting enough sleep is essential to safety; and you should aim to get 7½ continuous hours of sleep.

With the heavy stuff said, TRS  would like to wish you a wonderful Christmas, we hope that we all get enough sleep and stay safe on the roads this Christmas. 

Information extracted from the WA transport Industries Staying Alert at the Wheel Handbook, if you would like to read more click here.