Fatigue is a contributory factor in crashes which kill or seriously injure around 50 people.1 To tackle the serious issue of driver fatigue, the Scottish Government and Road Safety Scotland (part of Transport Scotland) have launched a new campaign with a clear message for all drivers – Driving Tired Kills.
Key Campaign Messages
Driving tired kills
- Fatigue is a contributory factor in crashes which kill or seriously injure around 50 people every year in Scotland.1
- In 2019, fatigue was a contributory factor in 2% of all collisions, but in 5% of all road deaths.2
- Experts estimate that the real figure is much higher, with up to 20 per cent of all collisions involving driver fatigue.3
- Sleep related collisions are around 50 per cent more likely to result in death or serious injury. When drivers fall asleep, the police find no signs of braking, or any avoiding actions, so they tend to result in higher-speed collisions.4
You can’t fight sleep
- Many of the counter measures drivers use (opening a window, turning up the radio) simply do not work.
Plan ahead
Planning ahead can help you avoid driving tired:
- Plan regular breaks in your journey. Take a break at least every two hours.
- If your journey is very long, or you know you won’t have had much sleep, consider using alternative transport or planning an overnight stay.
If your journey has been unavoidably delayed and you’re driving for longer than planned:
- Ask another insured driver to take over.
- If that isn’t an option, have a caffeinated drink, and rest for 20 minutes while the caffeine kicks in.
Social Media
We are looking to support partners and stakeholders on social media, which would include us retweeting / sharing your information through our Facebook and Twitter accounts. Similarly, we would appreciate your support in sharing our messages through your own channels.
Our Facebook page is here:
facebook.com/roadsafetyscotland
Our Twitter handle is:
@RoadSafetyScot
The campaign hashtag is:
#DrivingTiredKills
A shortened URL which links to the website is:
https://bit.ly/3gcWMnX
A shortened URL which links to the ad is:
https://bit.ly/3aBfLY2
Social media examples
Here’s an example of tweets and posts you might want to send out to your followers to show your support:
If you feel tired when you’re driving, take a break, have a caffeinated drink, and rest for 20 minutes while the caffeine kicks in. #DrivingTiredKills https://bit.ly/2YjteyW
Sleep related collisions are around 50 per cent more likely to result in death or serious injury. #DrivingTiredKills https://bit.ly/2YjteyW
You can’t fight sleep. #DrivingTiredKills https://bit.ly/2EoZxFi
Plan ahead to avoid driving tired and take regular breaks. #DrivingTiredKills https://bit.ly/2EoZxFi
Social films
We have created a suite of social films for each of our key campaign messages. Please feel free to use these on your own social channels.
Social static banners
We have also created a set of static social banners which you can use on your own channels.
Posters
Download and print our posters.
Leaflet
Download our A5 leaflet and print out for your own use and distribution.
Night driver
Please share the link to our video. Can you spot the signs of driving tired?
References
1 Reference: Transport Scotland, February 2020
2 RRCS, 2020
3 Source: BMj 2016: https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/bmjopen/6/8/e011461.full.pdf
4 Source, ROSPA, https://www.rospa.com/Road-Safety/Advice/Drivers/Fatigue/Road-Accidents.aspx