Young women the worst tired drivers

A Suncorp Insurance study has found young women to be the worst offenders when it comes to driving tired.  Fatigued young female drivers are the least likely to stop for a break (41 per cent) followed by young male drivers (39 per cent).

Motorists with less than 10 years' driving experience are also unwilling to take a break when tired (36 per cent).  Suncorp spokesman Mike Sopinski said the findings were surprising.

"Previously young males were the worst offenders and I'd suggest changing lifestyle factors may have had an influence on this," he said.

Nineteen-year-old Emma Betts is a busy teenager, juggling university studies, part-time nanny work, duties as the state director of Oaktree international aid and development organisation and a hectic teenage social life.

"I'm pretty much tired all the time," she said.  "I wouldn't even think of driving if I've had a drink but I don't really think about driving tired. But it's only short journeys from the city to home. Night time meetings are sometimes a drag getting home."

Sopinski pointed out that fatigue is the only one of the Fatal Four (speeding, not wearing a seat belt, fatigue and driving under the influence) that police cannot immediately identify and test.

"This may be a contributing factor in motorists making the decision to drive tired," he said.  The national study of 2818 Australians found 27 per cent of tired drivers will not stop for a break, 24 per cent have momentarily fallen asleep at the wheel and 6 per cent say tiredness contributed to a crash in which they were involved.

It also found 15 per cent are willing to drive for four hours without a break and 7 per cent will drive even longer without stopping.  The message about fatigue driving is particularly important in the run-up to the Easter break, he said.

"With an extraordinarily long Easter break this year, we expect many driver to hit the road for the holiday weekend," Sopinski said.  "With more traffic on the roads than usual, it's important to take extra care on the roads."

Fatigue is a cause of up to 14 per cent of deaths on Australian roads annually.

Ten tips for avoiding fatigue

1 Avoid beginning a trip at the end of a day's work
2 Ensure you have adequate sleep and are well-rested the night before you set out
3 Don't drive at times when you would normally be asleep e.g. early hours of the morning
4 Schedule regular rest breaks outside the vehicle - 10-15 minutes rest every two hours
5 Share the driving where possible
6 Never drink alcohol (not even small quantities) before or during long trips
7 Eat proper and well-balanced meals preferably at your normal meal times
8 Try to maintain a cool temperature inside the vehicle
9 Don't drive while taking medication that may affect your driving - check labels on medicine
10 Allow extra time and take a powernap if tired

Ten signs of fatigue

1 Constant yawning
2 Drifting in your lane of traffic
3 Sore or heavy eyes
4 Trouble keeping your head up
5 Delayed reactions
6 Loss of attention, daydreaming or 'zoning out'
7 Difficulty remembering the last few kilometres
8 Variations in driving speed
9 Mood swings such as irritability or boredom
10 Blurry vision or 'seeing things' e.g. objects or shadows on the roadside appear distorted