Avoiding ‘microsleep’ while driving is fundamental to greater road safety
Around 30 years ago, Iain Robertson became involved in a Reading University road safety project that drew together the talents of some of the UK’s finest drivers with scientists investigating road traffic incident research and causal impact.
Although the exercise raised some fascinating grounds for concern, the Thatcher government’s funding provided to Professor Frank McKenna and his small team was withdrawn before its conclusions could be published. It was suggested, at the time, that a series of interim reports that criticised a number of government departments and even the NHS were considered to be so inflammatory that PM John Major’s tenuous grip on his role could have been jeopardised. Personally, I believe that a combination of his circus clown origins, a propensity for wearing grey suits that matched his grey complexion and ‘Spitting Image’ may have inflicted greater damage.
Among those more interesting findings was the Department of Transport’s administration-bound tendency to install new urban street furniture, sometimes on a whim, without ever removing older information, bus stops, direction signs, railings and barriers. The confusion caused to motorists by a profusion of steel posts carrying repeated, sometimes nocturnally illuminated details was considered by the project team to compound problems confronted by drivers having to balance slim memories of the Highway Code, with a need to progress along increasingly congested routes.
At the time, research carried out by various bodies, such as The Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM), revealed that most road incidents occurred at speeds of less than 20mph and usually in built-up areas. On the other hand, the UK’s motorway network, despite its higher average speeds, was considered to be among the safest in the world. For what it was worth, British professional driving standards were also believed to be among the most respected, with the Metropolitan Police Class One licence flying a flag for driver training organisations worldwide. It was a situation that would alter dramatically over the next few years approaching the New Millennium, when the Met’s Hendon Training facility, in North London, was run down in budget terms and taken over by BSM. Police driving standards slumped to a never known low, from which recovery is impossible.
Another facet of the University team’s research revealed a little-known phenomenon that it was able to term as ‘microsleep’. In essence, small groups of drivers being monitored scientifically might fall asleep at the controls of their vehicles. Fascinatingly, their periods of ‘slumber’ were not accompanied by head-cocking and eyes-closing. Instead, even the individual subject that may have been considered as an ‘active participant’ would appear to remain awake, in control of his motor functions and notionally aware of his surroundings, even though subsequent powers of recall proved inconsistent and dangerously incomplete.
While driving can be considered as intuitive, especially to the most experienced of drivers, it appeared that various conditions, such as maintained steady speed, being provided with excess information, extraneous noise, a lack of nutrition, insufficient sleep, or exercise, and boredom could induce the ‘microsleep’ that even fellow passengers travelling in the vehicle would not notice. Although not always conditional, longer distance drivers, such as LGV, coach, businesspeople and those heading off on vacation could fall prey to the phenomenon. A planned control group that would include airline pilots and train drivers never progressed beyond discussion stage. Yet, a semi-conclusion was reached that ‘microsleep’ could occur for any driver.
While many of the tests were carried out on a driving simulator, a considerable amount of specific route, real-time driving also formed the research programme. While subtle screen flickering and the poorer graphics of the period contributed to experimental error in the laboratory, admissions by interviewed drivers across all age groups revealed a greater consistency of ‘falling asleep’ at the wheel. A recent IAM report suggests that around 50% of the UK’s 40m drivers have experienced momentary lapses of concentration that can be attributed to a combination of actually dozing through fatigue, or the potentially more complex and lethal ‘microsleep’. When you consider that a vehicle travelling at 70mph is covering around 100ft every second, contemplating the consequences becomes disturbing.
Naturally, in publishing its report, the IAM is hoping that it will start ringing alarm bells around road safety experts, health specialists and government. Other results from the research highlighted additionally that a high percentage of drivers have succumbed to tiredness at the wheel, with 1-in-10 admitting that they had hit the rumble strip on the road’s margin. Whether travelling solo, or running the risk of annoying passengers, around 4-in-10 had turned down the cabin heating, or rolled down a window, as a means to resist tiredness.
On a slightly more positive note, around a quarter of the surveyed drivers had pulled over for a rest and/or a coffee. Interestingly, the Reading research proved that time of day could be critical, especially in relation to nutritional intake. Despite 24-hour service facilities being available on the UK’s motorway and trunk road network, some of the nation’s longer A-roads lack around-the-clock services.
Driving long distances needs sensible pre-planning, to ensure that there are plenty of available rest places and to make enough time available to complete the journey, should delays be encountered. Motorists are urged never to drive for longer than two hours without a break and to take particular care, when driving at times at which they would normally be asleep. Naturally, driving while under the influence of ethical drugs may also be a major causal issue. Many people are diabetic, some unaware of it, and following the advice provided by medical professionals is an essential lifesaver.
Of course, all of this is important as the country reopens after the pandemic lockdown periods, bearing in mind that not all roadside facilities may be available, or even open. Regardless, sticking to the ‘Two-Hour Rule’ and taking appropriate breaks is common-sense and a primary safety aspect. Motorists need to concentrate on staying alert behind the wheel, rather than staving off tiredness by trying to reach their final destinations without adequate rest breaks. I would contend that deeper research into ‘microsleep’ ought to be considered by relevant specialists. While autonomous motoring remains unavailable, being in control of a vehicle is a major responsibility that must never be taken lightly.
