Don’t fall asleep while driving
Stop Sleep Survive

A national advertisement on the dangers of drowsy driving will save many, many lives. Good on you Rodney management for getting started. Long overdue ! Victoria Australia had their first driver fatigue advertisement in 1993 enttled ’ Wake up to yourself, fatigue kills ’, and have run them every year since. We have not been able to view the advertisement through this site, but note the text. The time of day (early hours of the morning is a peak time for driver fatigue crashes - 2pm midafternoon and 2am in the morning) although they can occur any time of the day or night. Around 7am is a common time as people begin to drive before they are fully awake (’sleep inertia’)
’Eyes heavy’ a warning sign along with yawning, blinking, micro-sleeps, missing key road exits, lost memory etc
Good to have added in one of the big myths that loud music, talking to people or opening the window will help keep you awake - they do not. However, we do not notice any ’countermeasures’ so add does not have a great deal of value.As most (90%) of drowsy driving crashes are about sleep deprivation (poor quality sleep, sleep debt build up and sleep medical disorders) rather than long distance we need to educate the driver about the countermeasure of ’Powernapping ’. As the only way to deal with sleep deprivation is by sleeping. A rest will assist with fatigue (clinical definition ie; due to physical or mental exhaustion (eg; through driving) but not sleep deprivation. To deal with sleep deprivation you need to sleep.
Most civilised countries teach road users about Powernapping. New Zealand is 15 years behind the rest of the world in this regard (very backward)and many lives have been lost as this message has not been educated to the roadusers. Take for example; the TAC Road Safety (Transport Accident Commission Road Safety Advertisement) in Victoria Australia - There slogan is ’A 15 minute Powernap could save your life’. You can view it on their website.

As soon as you experience any one (or combination) of the drowsy driving warning signs you should stop immediately.
Pull over in a safe place (as far off the road as possible)
Park in a well lit area and lock the doors. Wind the windows down slighty for air. Phone someone and let them know where you are.
Move to the passenger seat and take a 15 minute power nap. A 15 minute power nap is a 15 minute sleep. Time your nap with a timer or mobile phone.
Do not sleep for more than 20 minutes or you may enter a deeper sleep and feel groggy upon wakening. Wait at least 10minutes to make sure that you are completely awake. If you still feel sleepy/tired don’t drive, find a place to sleep for an extended period or for the night.

Just remember, in a 3 second micro-sleep your car travels 83 metres, when travelling at 100km/hr !

Good on you Saatchi’s for doing this advertisement. Driver fatigue crash rate is second equal to drink driving in many countries and is often seen as the number one cause of crashes along with Inattention. Eg; SWATT 2010 campaign (200km SH1) South Waikato and Taupo Target 2005
Website can be viewed at www.akill.co.nz
(temporarily down as being rebuilt after 4 years of use -including drowsy driving videos of Centennial Highway drowsy driving crashes). Back up in approx. 1 week.

Thanks for this opportunity
AKILLA

I have been there and have done that.

I have gotten drowsy while driving before but never fell asleep. So when we talk about cars! everybody must always be careful!!