The blame and responsibility for driving while tired lies completely with the driver, according to a sleep research expert.
Professor Jim Horne of Loughborough University told a recent Dublin conference on 'Road Safety at Work' that 'not remembering' falling asleep at the wheel is no excuse, because such drivers do know at the time that they are sleepy.
He also debunked other potential defences in 'sleep-driving' incidents. Dull roads, for instance, so not cause sleepiness, he said. But they do 'unmask' it.
And he added that so-called 'highway hypnosis' has no basis in law. "It is just another name for sleepiness," he told participants at the conference, which was organised jointly by the Road Safety Authority and the Health & Safety Authority.
