STAYIN AWAKE, STAY! , G ALIVE
Page 39
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
interviewed 15 truck drivers at the BP Truckstop at South Mimms on the M25 to gauge how many of them suffered from DWA—all of them thought they had experienced the condition. Eight thought boredom was to blame; six blamed the monotony of motorways; seven thought tiredness was a contributor and three attributed it to hunger. Five experienced DWA more than 10 times a month and everyone had DWA at least once a month.
For Jim Williamson of Belfast-based Haulage Services the worst experience he has had of DWA in his seven years of truck driving is finding that he was too close to the vehicle ahead. He believes that in-cab air conditioning could help stimulate drivers and make them more alert. Whenever he feels he is losing concentration he stops and goes for a short walk: not always easy on a motorway or in a city centre.
Chris Howe, a driver at Ipswichbased Phil Barlow Commercials, shudders when he recalls an incident of DWA on a small winding A-road, when he was in the truck with his wife. "I turned to her and said 'it's taking a long time to get to that bridge' and she said we'd passed it three quarters of an hour ago. It was terrifying; I really couldn't remember it." That was back in 1987 and now he finds turning the radio on and opening the window can help him concentrate.George Price, a driver at Glasgow-based Mac Pac, believes he is most prone to DWA at dusk, when it is harder to focus on the road. He often sings to himself to stop him getting DWA and says that his worst experience of the condition is driving a bit too close to the vehicle in front.Eddie Conner, who joined Carlisle-based East Cumbria Motors as a driver earlier this year, says he finds it hardest to fight off DWA when it is sunny and wet and the road conditions are more demanding.
Terry Broadbridge, an international driver at Parcelforce's Canning Town depot in East London, admits he has been known to forget where he is heading for when he arrives from the ferry in France. He believes he can deter DWA by opening the window and getting Fresh air. He would like the Government to introduce more compulsory stops.
Chris Howe