With Britain recently basking in glorious sunshine (much to the dismay of our very thirsty lawns), during one of the longest heatwaves since the summer of 1976, how did this heat affecting those of us out on the roads?
Counting down the hours and minutes to your exotic summer getaway is enough to distract you when driving, that’s without the realisation that with this weather set to continue, you could have stayed at home with the paddling pool and saved the cost of a small car for what you spent on a week in Benidorm. Toss symptoms of dehydration such as headaches, nausea and dizziness into the mix and you could be putting both yourself and other drivers in danger.
Impact of dehydration on drivers
Professor Ron Maughan, Emeritus Professor of Sport and Exercise Nutrition at Loughborough University explains that although the majority of us take ‘drink-driving’ very seriously, we often overlook other factors which can affect our driving skills. Shockingly, the study found that the level of driving errors, which included late braking and lane drifting, of a dehydrated driver was similar to those found in those drivers with a blood alcohol limit of 0.08%- the current UK legal driving limit. During the study, a hydration test was carried out in which there were 47 recorded driving incidents but when the same subject was dehydrated the number of incidents more than doubled to 101. Surely this is proof enough of the importance of keeping ourselves hydrated.
So, how can you keep yourself and your fellow drivers safe AND stay cool, calm and collected, even on the days when your air-con packs in and you are sat in a traffic jam longer than the queue for the dinner buffet at your all-inclusive hotel in Benidorm? It’s simple. Drink plenty of fluids! Keep yourself topped up with water (stay away from fizzy drinks as they can add to your dehydration) and make regular stops where possible and safe.
Get in touch with us if you are interested in becoming a Class 1 or Class 2 LGV driver! We also now offer Mod 4 training and examination from our Bromborough training centre.
http://www.lboro.ac.uk/media-centre/press-releases/2015/april/54-dehydrated-drivers-1.html
