Free driver fatigue education offered online

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine is now offering a free online presentation for truckers describing the signs, causes and effects of driver fatigue and some strategies to manage it.

SAFE-T: Sleep, Alertness and Fatigue Education for Truckers is available at www.aasmnet.org/safet. The presentation also is on YouTube. The 23-minute narrated slide presentation explores the causes of driver fatigue, such as working outside of a typical nine-to-five schedule or working unpredictable schedules.

The presentation also discusses good sleep strategies for the road or at home to help manage fatigue. Planning sleep breaks and the timing of sleep breaks, managing off-hour responsibilities, and improving sleep environments are among the tips given.

According to a recent study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, an estimated 16.5 percent of all fatal motor vehicle crashes in the United States from 1999-2008 involved a fatigued driver. Studies have shown that the effects of sleep loss are similar to having a blood-alcohol content over the legal driving limit.

For more information, visit https://sleepeducation.org/.