1/5司机曾在开车时打瞌睡

Almost one in five drivers have dozed off behind the wheel, a shocking new report has revealed.

Of those who were nodding off, a worrying three in ten (29 per cent) have done so on the motorway doing speeds up to 70 miles per hour.

The report also found a quarter of men have fallen asleep while driving, making them almost twice as likely as women (13 per cent) to do so.

The Safety on Wheels Report, by Post Office Car Insurance, also looked at how often tiredness or a lack of concentration caused accidents.

Three in ten drivers have experienced an incident, from missing a pedestrian crossing to hitting another vehicle, because of a lapse in concentration.

Meanwhile, almost half (49 per cent) of UK drivers have driven while not concentrating.

Paul Havenhand, head of insurance at Post Office, said: 'When fatigue strikes, drivers should steer clear of the roads.

'Anything that hinders their ability to concentrate is dangerous and could result in a potentially fatal accident.

'There is no measurement for tired driving unlike driving while under the influence of alcohol, yet it could result in an equally dangerous accident.

'Drivers who are so tired they fall asleep while on the roads pose a serious risk to themselves and other road users.

'Roads can be hazardous enough as it is, without drivers putting themselves or others at risk by setting out when their concentration has been impaired.'

Drivers are advised to take a 15 minute break from driving every two hours.

However, a third (36 per cent) are so eager to reach their destination they will ignore feelings of fatigue.

What’s more, almost one in five (18 per cent) will drive for longer than four hours without a break - while six per cent carry on for up to six hours.

But when tiredness strikes, drivers do resort to a range of energy boosting measures.

Just over a quarter (27 per cent) opt for a quick caffeine fix and buy a cup of coffee while 17 per cent pull over until they feel alert again.

Mr Havenhand added: 'Sometimes it can be tempting to forge on ahead with a planned journey but it should never override the priority people place upon their safety.

'Drivers should ensure they plan ahead and rest before embarking on a long journey as well as taking regular breaks to recharge their batteries.

'In some circumstances, if they really do feel too tired to concentrate on the roads, they may want to consider an alternative method of transport.

'A momentary lapse in concentration might result in a scrape, or worse an accident, that could otherwise have been avoided.'

据英国《每日邮报》10月27日报道，英国一份报告称，英国近1/5的汽车司机曾在开车时打瞌睡。

更糟糕的是，这些“瞌睡虫司机”中又有3/10（29%）在高速公路上以每小时70英里(113公里)的速度行驶时打瞌睡。开车时睡着过的男司机达25%，几乎为打瞌睡女司机的两倍（13%）。

报告还研究了疲劳驾驶或注意力不集中时开车导致事故的频率。研究显示，近一半（49%）的英国司机在注意力不集中时开过车，因而经历过事故的司机达3/10：有的没注意到过路人，有的撞上其他车辆。

英国邮局保险负责人保罗说：“在犯困时，司机应该绕开道路。任何妨碍注意力的事情都很危险，有可能导致潜在的致命事故。疲劳驾驶和酒后驾驶不一样，没有测量标准，但有可能造成同样危险的事故。”

司机每开2小时车后应当休息15分钟。但1/3（36%）的司机因急于到达目的地而忽略了疲劳感。此外，近1/5（18%）的司机开车超过4小时不休息，还有6%的司机持续开车达6小时。

避免疲劳最常见的方法是喝杯咖啡，超过1/4（27%）的司机选择买杯咖啡，利用咖啡因快速提神，只有17%的汽车司机靠边停车休息。

保罗还说，“有时，按计划前进很有诱惑力，但是绝对不该不优先考虑安全。司机应该确保提前做好计划，在开始长途旅行之前休息好，并在旅途中经常休息，恢复精力。有些时候，如果他们确实感觉太累，无法在路上集中注意力，就应该考虑换换交通工具，因为瞬间缺失注意力有可能导致本来能够避免的刮蹭，甚至更严重的事故。”