{"id":27,"date":"2018-11-22T09:33:41","date_gmt":"2018-11-22T09:33:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/platts.co.uk\/blog\/?p=27"},"modified":"2018-12-02T16:57:54","modified_gmt":"2018-12-02T16:57:54","slug":"are-you-a-zombie-at-the-wheel-ford-sleep-suit-shows-how-drowsy-drivers-can-be-as-deadly-as-drink-drivers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.platts.co.uk\/blog\/2018\/11\/22\/are-you-a-zombie-at-the-wheel-ford-sleep-suit-shows-how-drowsy-drivers-can-be-as-deadly-as-drink-drivers\/","title":{"rendered":"Are You a Zombie at The Wheel? Ford \u2018Sleep Suit\u2019 Shows How Drowsy Drivers Can be as Deadly as Drink Drivers"},"content":{"rendered":"

See a friend or loved one reach for their car keys after a boozy night out and many people will speak out or persuade them to hand over the keys. But how about when a friend insists on driving when they are simply tired after a long day?<\/p>\n

Fatigue is a major factor in up to 1 in 5 road crashes<\/a>\u00a0and according to experts, remaining awake for periods in excess of 18 hours can impair abilities to a degree that is\u00a0comparable to exceeding the drink drive limit<\/a>\u00a0in many countries.<\/p>\n

Ford has now commissioned the creation of a \u201cSleep Suit\u201d that enables wearers to experience the debilitating effect that tiredness can have. Transport accidents are\u00a0the leading cause of death among young people<\/a>, and the company will integrate training with the suit into\u00a0Driving Skills for Life<\/i>\u00a0(DSFL) its free young driver training programme for 17- to 24-year-olds.<\/p>\n

\u201cDrive when you\u2019re tired and you risk driving like a zombie \u2013 becoming a danger to yourself, your passengers and everyone on the road around you,\u201d said Dr Gundolf Meyer\u2011Hentschel, CEO, Meyer\u2011Hentschel Institute, who developed the \u201cSleep Suit\u201d. \u201cYoung adults very often subject themselves to \u2018intentional sleep deprivation\u2019 \u2013 forcing themselves to stay awake so that they can juggle the demands of busy social lives, long working hours and studying for exams.\u201d<\/p>\n

The suit partly consists of special goggles that simulate extreme exhaustion, including microsleeps \u2013 an uncontrollable response to tiredness. Microsleeps can result in those behind the wheel driving blind for 10 seconds or more, sometime with their eyes still open, during which time they may have covered hundreds of metres. There may be no recollection afterwards that this has happened.<\/p>\n

Connected to a smartphone app, the goggles can be set to simulate the brain shutting down and the driver effectively seeing nothing ahead of them for half a second, then for increasingly longer periods, up to 10 seconds. Worn together with a specially designed cap, vest, arm and ankle bands \u2013 with a combined weight of more than 18 kilogrammes \u2013 the overall effect offers an insight into the degree to which tired drivers are impaired. In the US, most drowsy driving crashes are caused by under-25s.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were determined to raise awareness of drowsy driving and the \u2018Sleep Suit\u201d is the perfect way to demonstrate this,\u201d said Ford DSFL Manager, Jim Graham. \u201cMany people have been thankful that a friend or family member has volunteered to be the designated driver on a night out. But just because they haven\u2019t been drinking doesn\u2019t mean that they are safe to drive if, for example, they are exhausted after staying up all night.\u201d<\/p>\n

So, what should you do if think that you may be too tired to drive? According to Dr Gundolf Meyer-Hentschel, the best course of action is as follows:<\/p>\n