Fatigue: The Hidden Killer (II)

ROAD SAFETY BY AGWU

As I draw the curtain on the second part of this piece on fatigue, I need to bring you up to speed with a road traffic crash that occurred within the week in Kogi State. According to the

report, a 18-seater bus coming from Lokoja to Abuja skidded into the river by Murtala Mohammed Bridge. The cause of the crash, according to the report, was fatigue as the driver was suspected to have slept on the steering under high speed. As at the time of writing, divers were searching for victims of the crash. It is suspected that about five deaths were recorded with a number of injuries sustained by survivors.

Meanwhile, I need to also update you with another study from Victoria, Australia. It is captioned, crash risk increases 10 times for drivers with three hours’ sleep .It notes that “a fatigue trial using pupil scanning technology has found that drivers with only three hours’ sleep are 10 times more likely to be involved in a crash.

The Australian-first technology trial to detect drowsy drivers was conducted by the Victorian Government in Australia.

Participants in the study were kept awake for up to 32 hours before driving for two hours on a controlled track while supervised by a qualified instructor in a dual controlled vehicle. The participants also undertook three additional drive tests – with three hours’ sleep and five hours’ sleep in a 24-hour period, and again when they were well-rested after eight hours’ sleep.

Additionally, drivers were tested before and after their driving with technology that measures involuntary movement of their pupils, which has shown strong links with increased levels of sleep deprivation. Other data collected included brain electrical activity, lane deviations, speed variations and changes in reaction time.

“Victoria leads the nation in road safety initiatives – random breath testing and roadside drug driving tests started here and this Australian-first fatigue trial continues our work in tackling road trauma,” said Minister for Roads and Road Safety, Ben Carroll.

“Truly innovative, ground-breaking technology targeting the issues we know contribute to deaths and serious injuries on our roads is vital as we work to make sure everyone gets home to their families safely.”

Road Safety Victoria led the study in partnership with the Transport Accident Commission, working closely with Monash University, Victoria Police and the Cooperative Research Consortium for Alertness.

“The risk of a crash increases significantly with increasing time awake,” said Associate Professor Clare Anderson, Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health at Monash University. “This trial has demonstrated that it is possible to reliably detect excessively fatigued drivers in a roadside context.”

Meanwhile, current figures show fatigued drivers are involved in up to 20 percent of crashes and 11 percent of fatalities on Victorian roads.

These findings should clear the doubts of those who cling on to unfounded myths. Notwithstanding these findings, let me conclude on the remaining myths. There are those who think that loud music will keep you awake. Agreed that loud music can, however, help for a while. It might even distract you from the driving task or even send you to sleep. What about coffee? Gworo? What if combined with cigarette? Caffeine is only a short term solution and will have less effect the more often you use it. It might make you feel more alert but it won’t keep you going for long. Seep, remains the long term solution. This reminds me of a personal experience way back at the greatest University- the University of Lagos. Although it had nothing to do with driving, it however taught me a little lesson about cheating nature. While on a post graduate programme, we went to what was then one of the bukas on campus to fill our stomach. After a good meal, my friend and classmate nick- named Folly who is today a senior officer in one the services suggested we buy kola nut and top it up with his favourite – Saint Morris.

We obliged and bought kola nuts and cigarettes as suggested. We smoked plenty, topping it up with plenty of kola nut all in the name of dealing a deadly blow to sleep. To my astonishment, as soon as we got into the post graduate library, my friend who incidentally took more of the gworo and cigarretee, suddenly pulled off his shirt, dragged a table and was about to do the unexpected- sleep, when I jokingly challenged him and said, ‘ old boy, how can you try that after all you have consumed? Of course, that friendly challenge and stupid joke almost resulted in a friendly fight by two friends whose real problem was sleep. To make peace, my good friend was allowed to sleep all night instead of our planned all night jacking (reading).

The last myth is that plenty of air through the window will keep me awake. Like all others discussed, this might give you a boost and help for a while, as might turning up the air- conditioning. But if you are tired, sleep still remains the solution. Some people assume that fatigue only affect long distance travellers. Any driver can suffer fatigue. Like we stated earlier, broken sleep or too little sleep at night caused by power fluctuations which has become rampant all over the country, too much hanging out or armed robbery attacks which is common in most cities, sleep disorders (such as insomnia, narcolepsy and sleep apnoea) continuing pressures of stress, very demanding physical or mental work, caring for children and often the demands of daily living can drain your energies. What about the after effect of all night prayer meetings common among Christians. It is very common to see believers’ faith sleep when all they need do is take a little nap at the prayer venue before driving home. As Sector Commander of the Federal Capital Territory some years ago, I had to initiate a special campaign targeted at churches in the FCT.

This followed series of road crashes involving Christian believers mostly after all night prayers early Saturday mornings. The campaign took us to a good number of churches where the effect of sleep or fatigue was drummed to them. In fact; there was a very pathetic incident when a man who was said to have just gotten his green card to the United States of America was killed on the very day the news filtered in. This was indeed one very sad event that really shook me beyond words, propelling me to request audience with churches to raise their awareness level on the dangers of sleep. That campaign, I believe did a lot in bringing such crashes down in the FCT.

Judging if you are too tired to drive is the first question to always ask yourself. But should you become a victim, please plan your trip with a good night rest uninterrupted. You should also plan to take regular breaks (at least every two hours for 15 minutes or more) stopping in towns along the way or at roadside rest stops. When you stop, get out of the car and walk around for a while-exercise, breathing deeply. You are also advised to eat proper well balanced meals on journeys- not too much and not too little- and at your usual meal times. This will also ensure you take proper breaks. It is also good to steer clear of fatty foods which can make you feel sluggish. Avoid the vogue among the average motorists to drink alcohol before driving or during breaks. To show you how serious we regard such breaks, the Commission insists that a driver must take a break after three to four hours’ drive. Finally, please check what prescription medicines you are taking- some can affect your alertness or cause drowsiness. But if your case is really bad, please share the driving with someone.