Caravan Insurance

Not getting enough sleep can seriously affect your ability to drive and your responses when behind the wheel, with truck and van drivers singled out by a new study.

Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine found that commercial drivers who don't get enough sleep - a serious occupational hazard for many - suffered impaired attention and reaction times.

Those who slept five hours or less each night or who suffered from sleep problems were quicker to fall asleep, something that could be potentially disastrous when working a particularly long shift.

Dr Allan Pack, the study's lead author, said some tired drivers reacted as if they were very drunk: "We identified some very impaired people.

"There are daytime neurobehavioral performance impairments that are found commonly in commercial drivers and these are more likely among those who get an average of five or less hours of sleep a night and those who suffer from severe obstructive sleep apnea," he added.

The ability to stay in control of a vehicle is professionally and personally of the utmost importance, as well as the financial implications of having to claim on commercial van insurance.

Over half of the drivers who slept too little or had sleep problems suffered impaired reactions on two or three of the scientists' tests, compared with only one in ten of those who got at least eight hours of sleep a night.