Around four million drivers have fallen asleep behind the wheel

22 June 2021

Research suggests that four million drivers in England have fallen asleep whilst driving. 

A survey of 1,000 drivers in the UK by road safety charity IAM RoadSmart found that one in ten have closed their eyes from tiredness whilst driving. 

The same proportion admitted to hitting the rumble strip due to fatigue whilst driving and four in ten havescrambled to keep themselves awake by turning down the heating or opening a window.  

One quarter of respondents said that they had pulled over into a rest stop when feeling tired whilst driving. 

IAM RoadSmart advises drivers to plan their route in advance and factor in rest stops, particularly considering that some facilities may be temporarily closed due to Covid19. The charity recommends that motorists take a rest stop every two hours. 

Director of policy and research at IAM Roadsmart Neil Greig says that these measures allow drivers to “concentrate on staying alert behind the wheel rather than staving off tiredness by trying to reach their end destination without adequate rest breaks”.

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