Portable oxygen to prevent road accidents?
Road traffic accidents could be cut down if drivers carried portable oxygen, it has been suggested.
Heavy goods vehicle driver Paul Connelly has been issued with extra oxygen after he fell asleep at the wheel, the Sun reports.
The 42-year-old was unaware he suffered from sleep apnoea and found himself veering off the hard shoulder when in control of his 44-tonne lorry.
"I stopped at the nearest services, had a wash, a coffee and a walk around to wake myself up, but I was shaking so badly," he explained.
It comes after MPs called for action to be taken after it was revealed one-in-six long-distance drivers have the condition and 300 deaths a year are caused by motorists nodding off while on the road.
Tony Smithwell, a US soldier who served in Iraq, recently claimed additional oxygen has allowed him to gain improved sleeping practices after suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Posted by Stewart Elliott
30/07/2010 18:20:11
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