18:00 30 January 2013 Fatigue has been blamed for some of worst
human-made disasters of recent decades. Find out about some of
them here. Valerie Jamieson Read more: "Sleep and dreaming: The
how, where and why" Image 1 of 8 Road traffic accidents Motor
vehicle crashes are the number one cause of death in the US for
people aged between 2 and 34. Nearly two-fifths of fatal crashes
involve drunk drivers, but drowsiness is another important
factor. Our performance crumbles when we are tired. This is due,
so we think, to episodes of involuntary "microsleep" lasting
several seconds. Succumb to microsleep at the wrong time and you
won't respond fast enough when something goes wrong. According
to the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a
staggering 100,000 crashes every year are related to fatigue.
And 31 per cent of drivers report having fallen asleep at the
wheel at some point in their lives. Indeed, accidents involving
just one vehicle peak between 1 am and 4 am: fatigue is usually
correlated with h