Do you often feel too tired to concentrate on driving carefully?

Apparently, a significant number of people that have work-related accidents include - worryingly - people that work in the public transport industry. Data suggests that insufficient sleep and disrupted circadian rhythms contribute to major public health problems and road traffic accidents.

Sleeping hours in the UK have dropped
The average night's sleep in the UK has fallen by 90 minutes a day and workers are increasingly required to do extra shifts, work into the evening or do early morning duties. Concerns about performance, promotion and competition at work also make people work longer hours. As people work longer, they also become more tired.

Nine hours a night used to be the average sleep, now it is just seven and a half hours. Lack of sleep can lead to irritable behaviour, inefficiency at work, ill-health, relationship issues, road traffic accidents and work-related accidents. For those whose job it is to drive public transport vehicles, this can mean the danger of work-related accidents.

Sleep-related vehicle accidents (SRVAs)
There are currently no tests available to measure or quantify levels of sleepiness at the scene of a road traffic accident. In a study of road traffic accidents, work-related accidents and SRVAs, the Department of Transport considered driver sleepiness as well as weather conditions, driver alcohol levels, speeding and mechanical defects in a vehicle as contributing factors.

Government research shows that a fifth of motorway collisions are caused by drivers falling asleep at the wheel and one in ten car crashes on all of Britain's roads - around 23,000 a year - are associated with fatigue.

Sleep-related vehicle accidents (SRVAs) are more likely to result in a serious personal injury than the average road traffic accident. According to the 'Sleep Unit' at Loughborough University, men aged 30 or under are more likely to be involved in such accidents.

SRVAs are one of the most common work-related accidents on the roads and often involve running into the back of another vehicle or leaving the highway.

Drive and Stay Alive at www.driveandstayalive.com has more information about road safety.

Driver sleepiness and public campaigns
The Department of Transport has a survey of public education literature regarding driver sleepiness, including information from the States, and the National Sleep Foundation (NSF).

The NSF is dedicated to increasing public awareness about health problems related to sleep and promotes a national sleep awareness week (NASW). The Bill of Nights is a public declaration of all people's rights to healthy, sufficient sleep and refers to hazards posed by fatigue. Read more at www.sleepfoundation.org

The NSF's Drive Alert Arrive Alive campaign, designed to increase public awareness of the dangers of driving while tired and reduce the incidence of sleep-related crashes and work-related accidents on the road, revealed that at least 100,000 accidents each year involved driver sleepiness or fatigue. Further, a Gallup Poll showed that 52 % of drivers admit to driving while tired.

Making a work-related accident claim
Driving can present numerous hazards, but sleep deprivation is one hazard that is not discussed as often as other causes of accidents. Despite this fact, SRVAs cause numerous fatalities and personal injuries every year and those who have been injured in a work-related accident on the road may have a right to make a compensation claim against their employer.

Our team are experts in personal injury cases and have an excellent no win, no fee success rate. If you have been involved in a non-fault work-related accident you may be able to make a claim for personal injury compensation.

Call us now on 0800 10 757 95 for free legal advice or to start the work-accident compensation claim process today. You can also get in touch with us via e-chat or by filling in an online call back form.