Rest to Arrive Alive: Why Sleep Is Your Most Important Safety Gear November 24, 2025 Rest to Arrive Alive: Why Sleep Is Your Most Important Safety Gear Every time you start your car, you’re making a decision. You’re deciding whether you’re alert enough to operate a machine that weighs nearly two tonnes and travels at high speeds. In Australia, thousands of drivers make this decision every single day without realising they’re putting themselves and others at serious risk. The culprit behind this risk? Fatigue, one of the most underestimated threats on our roads. When you think about dangerous driving, you probably picture speeding or drink-driving. But here’s the reality: fatigue causes roughly one in five fatal crashes on Australian roads. That’s 20% of all road deaths, a staggering figure that deserves far more attention that it currently gets. Road crashes claim approximately 1,200 lives annually across Australia and cost our economy a massive AUD $30 billion 1. Yet unlike drink-driving, which has seen significant reductions thanks to strict enforcement and clear messaging, fatigue-related crashes have barely budged over the past two decades. The reason? We're not giving people straight answers about what "too tired" actually means. The Science Behind Tired Driving Your body isn't designed to function on fumes. When you're sleep-deprived, your brain essentially enters a state of impairment similar to being intoxicated. The evidence is sobering. If you've had only four to five hours of sleep in the previous 24 hours, you're approximately twice as likely to crash compared to someone who's well-rested. In practical terms, getting just 2–3 hours less sleep than normal triples your crash risk. And if you're operating on less than four hours of sleep, you're over ten times more likely to be in a crash that causes injury1 To put this in perspective, driving after just 17 hours without sleep impairs your performance to a level equivalent to having a blood alcohol concentration of 0.05% , the legal limit in Australia. Push it to 24 hours without sleep, and you're performing at the level of 0.10%, which is more than double the legal driving limit 1 Why Young Drivers Are Most at Risk Young drivers aren't just overrepresented in road statistics because of inexperience. They're significantly more vulnerable to the effects of sleep deprivation itself. Research comparing younger drivers (aged 20–35) with older drivers (aged 50–65) revealed that after just one night without sleep, younger drivers had more than three times as many near-crash and lane deviation incidents compared to their older counterparts. Remarkably, 62.5% of younger drivers experienced near-crash events following sleep deprivation, compared to just 17.6% of older drivers, and 56% of younger drivers didn't even complete a two-hour driving test2. This heightened vulnerability helps explain why 18–24-year-old drivers are 14.2 times more likely to crash during night-time or early morning hours. Whether it's due to shift work, late-night socialising, or the demands of modern life, young adults often find themselves driving when they shouldn't be 2. Recognising the Warning Signs Your body gives clear signals when fatigue is setting in. Learning to read these signals could literally save your life. Common warning signs include constant yawning, heavy eyelids or struggles to keep your eyes open, difficulty concentrating or wandering thoughts, trouble remembering the last few kilometres of driving, missing exits or ignoring traffic signs, and drifting between lanes or swerving. The most dangerous sign? Head nodding. If your head is nodding, you're already experiencing microsleeps – brief, unintended episodes where you lose consciousness. At this point, you've moved past the "pull over" stage and into serious danger 3. How Much Sleep Do You Really Need? The answer is simpler than you might think. Research shows that after 6–7 hours of sleep, modest impairment is already apparent compared to being well-rested. But the critical threshold where things deteriorate dramatically is at five hours or fewer 4. Ideally, you should aim for 7–8 hours of quality, undisturbed sleep before driving, particularly before long journeys or early morning drives. Driving in the early hours between 2am and 5am increases your crash risk by tenfold, so be especially cautious during these hours 3. More Than Just One Bad Night Sleep debt, the cumulative effect of getting less sleep than your body needs night after night is equally dangerous. Unlike a bank account where you can withdraw funds, sleep is more like a battery. Once it’s fully charged, you can’t expand its capacity by adding more charge. A single night of poor sleep puts you at risk but regularly skimping on sleep compounds the problem. Shift workers, professionals juggling multiple jobs, and busy parents often don't realise they're slowly accumulating a dangerous sleep deficit2 4. Taking Action: What You Can Do Before you drive, ask yourself honestly: Am I alert enough to safely operate this vehicle? If the answer is anything other than a resounding yes, don’t drive. Plan your journeys in advance, and if you’re tackling a long drive, take regular breaks. If you notice any warning signs of drowsiness, pull over immediately. Don’t rely on tricks like turning up the music or rolling down the window. These are temporary Band-Aids on a serious problem. On long trips, having a passenger who can help spot early warning signs of driver fatigue is invaluable. Switch drivers when possible and remember that no appointment or deadline is worth risk lives. If you frequently experience drowsiness while driving, struggle to get quality sleep despite having adequate time, or suspect you might have a sleep disorder, speak to your doctor. Conditions like obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) can quietly sabotage your sleep quality without you realising it and many of these conditions are highly treatable. Your doctor can assess whether an underlying sleep issue is affecting your alertness and provide you with the support you need to drive safely. Rest isn’t a luxury or something to rush through. It’s your most important safety gear. Make the commitment to prioritise quality sleep, recognise your body’s warning signals, and always make the choice to arrive alive. Your life and the lives of those sharing the road with you depends on it. How Sove CPAP Clinic Can Help Founded in 2008, Sove CPAP Clinic has grown to become a leading provider of respiratory and sleep services and products in Australia, with over 60 clinics nationwide. Our comprehensive clinical team includes Respiratory & Sleep Specialists, Sleep Technologists, and CPAP Consultants, ensuring that you receive comprehensive and personalised care. All medical procedures, including sleep studies and lung function testing, are bulk billed to all Australians, with minimal wait time. If you would like to speak to a Respiratory & Sleep Physician, book a bulk-billed sleep study, or seek advice for your sleep apnea, you can reach us at 1300 76 29 39 or info@thecpapclinic.com.au. ALWAYS FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS FOR USE. CPAP is used for Obstructive Sleep Apnea treatment. When considering whether a sleep study or CPAP is right for you, speak to your doctor. Medicare criteria and T&Cs apply. References Sprajcer, Madeline, et al. “How Tired Is Too Tired to Drive? A Systematic Review Assessing the Use of Prior Sleep Duration to Detect Driving Impairment.” Nature and Science of Sleep, vol. Volume 15, Apr. 2023, pp. 175–206, https://doi.org/10.2147/nss.s392441. Cai, Anna W. T., et al. “On-Road Driving Impairment Following Sleep Deprivation Differs according to Age.” Scientific Reports, vol. 11, no. 1, 3 Nov. 2021, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-99133-y. “Study Shows Tired Driving Is a Growing Concern - TAC - Transport Accident Commission.” Vic.gov.au, 2024, www.tac.vic.gov.au/about-the-tac/media-room/news-and-events/2024/study-shows-tired-driving-is-a-growing-concern. Tomson, Meenu, et al. “A Systematic Review of Studies Investigating the Impact of Sleep Deprivation on Drivers’ Physiology and Driving Performance.” Transportation Research Part F Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, vol. 109, 24 Dec. 2024, pp. 458–479, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2024.12.001.
