EXHAUSTED company car drivers could be causing the deaths of hundreds of people on British roads each year, new research shows. Early results from a two-year research project into sleep-related vehicle accidents reveal that nodding off at the wheel may account for as many as one in five motorway accidents and one in 10 of all road accidents.

The findings have led to renewed calls for fleets to take tiredness seriously and are expected to be a key issue with the Task Force set up by the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions and the Health and Safety Executive to examine work-related road safety.

Andrew Howard, AA head of road safety, is urging companies to change the working culture. He said: 'Business motorists are under pressure to meet deadlines and appointments, which means that they often drive too far, for too long.

'As a result they, not holiday drivers, are those who are most likely to suffer from fatigue. People must realise that no meeting, deadline or bonus is worth risking a life for. They should set more realistic schedules and be encouraged to stay overnight on long trips.'

Full results of Loughborough University's Sleep Unit study will be published in October but the DETR, which commissioned the report, is urging drivers to stop for a rest of 15 minutes every two hours on long journeys and stop if they feel tired.