The communications people at Norwich Union have come up with an ingenious new way to worry over our widespread economic woes.
Recession and ensuing economic insecurity, the insurer says, will raise the risks for British drivers by tempting them to work too long then take to the roads too tired.
Obviously the way to test this thesis would be to check this year’s accident stats against last year’s to see whether 2008 is generating more driver fatigue incidents than 2007.
Unfortunately NU haven’t developed their story as far as looking at Q108 v Q107 to check for any such increase, but they do suggest the current rate of 10% driver fatigue “could increase during the recession.”
Touching on the science behind his employer’s concerns, NU man Mike Smith claims “driving whilst tired means reaction times are slower and vigilance, alertness, concentration and the quality of decision-making are severely affected.” Must be time to put the premiums up then.