One in four Aussies will hit the road during the holiday period
Drivers urged to be wary of fatigue.
Roughly 27% of Australians are planning to hit the roads this holiday season, meaning that there will be 3.8 million cars on the road, according to survey data from finder.com.au.
With so many cars on the road, it's important that we stay safe. During the peak holiday period last year (22 December - 2 January) there were 36 fatalities on the roads Australia-wide.
Driver fatigue is one of the three major causes of accidents on Australian roads. According to research from the NeuRA Sleep and Breathing Lab, 20% of Australian drivers admitted to driving while tired.
“Driving fatigued is just as dangerous as driving under the influence and fatigue combined with a legal amount of alcohol is even more likely to result in a crash,” head of the NeuRA Sleep and Breathing Lab Professor Danny Eckert said in a statement.
According to Eckert, driving after being awake for 19 continuous hours is the equivalent of driving with a BAC of 0.05. Those driving after being awake 24 hours are as impaired as someone driving at twice the legal limit.
Rolling down the windows, turning the radio up, and struggling to keep your eyes open while driving are all signs of drowsiness which can lead to falling asleep behind the wheel, or having impaired judgement on the road,” said Prof Eckert.
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