Stay alert on our roads this Easter weekend

Hutt City Council’s road safety coordinator Jan Simmons has some simple advice for travellers on our roads this Easter – stay alert!

“Driver fatigue is a serious road safety issue, but people often don’t recognise the signs and know when to take a break and stop driving.

“Many people travel long distances to their Easter holiday destination and if they haven’t had a good sleep the night before, or have decided to drive at hours when they’re usually asleep, they’re taking a huge risk,” says Jan.

Being tired and drowsy slows reaction times and drivers’ ability to concentrate on the road and traffic around them. Once drowsiness reaches a certain point, the brain starts to take ‘micro sleeps’.

“Micro sleeps, or ‘nodding off’, may only last three or four seconds, but that’s long enough for a car to travel the length of a rugby field at 100km per hour - essentially with no-one in control of it, “ says Jan.

Jan recommends anyone planning a road trip gets several good nights sleep beforehand and takes a break while driving every two hours, or considers sharing driving duties.

“Some people think caffeinated drinks, playing loud music or winding down the windows will help them stay awake but it just doesn’t work.

“If you feel drowsy, or you’re struggling to concentrate, the best thing to do is pull over and take a 20 minute power nap,” says Jan.

NZ Transport Agency figures show in 2008 there were more than 670 fatigue-related crashes in New Zealand, resulting in 52 deaths and 192 serious injuries.