FACTS
- When drivers are fatigued or sleepy they are less able to respond quickly to changes in the road environment (that is, reaction time is slower) and they are also less likely to notice things that may pose a risk.
- When it comes to driving, two types of fatigue matter – physical fatigue and mental fatigue. Both reduce a driver’s capability to perform essential driving-related duties.
- Work often requires us to override those natural sleep patterns. Workers can be sleep-deprived, and those most at risk work the night shift, long shifts or irregular shifts.
- An over-worked, over-tired condition has become the norm for many. A good night’s sleep is not just a novelty, it’s a necessity.
- Safety performance decreases as employees become tired.
- Adults need an average seven to nine hours of sleep each night.
STATS
- 62% of night shift workers complain about sleep loss
- Fatigued worker productivity costs employers $1,200 to $3,100 per employee annually
- Employees on rotating shifts are particularly vulnerable because they cannot adapt their “body clocks” to an alternative sleep pattern
- You are three times more likely to be in a car crash if you are fatigued
- More than 5,000 people died in drowsy-driving related crashes in 2014
- Losing even two hours of sleep is similar to the effect of having three beers
- Being awake for more than 20 hours is the equivalent of being legally drunk
- Chronic sleep-deprivation causes depression, obesity, cardiovascular disease and other illnesses
- Fatigue is estimated to cost employers $136 billion a year in health-related lost productivity
- More than 70 million Americans suffer from a sleep disorder