LEICESTERSHIRE, UK — Summer is in full swing, and the accompanying high temperatures might be carrying an added danger for drivers that you might not know about. A study released late this spring by Loughborough University in the UK reveals that even mild dehydration can be the equivalent of being over the drunk-driving limit in terms of driver errors. Yes, being behind even a little bit on the amount of fluids a trucker takes in each day can lead to increased risks for accidents and even the potential for financially damaging lawsuits that can follow a crash.

Researchers carried out a range of tests over two days on male drivers, using a laboratory-based driving simulator. During the normal hydration test there were 47 driving incidents, but when the men were dehydrated that number more than doubled to 101 – a similar number to what might be expected of someone driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

These incidents included lane drifting, late braking and touching or crossing the rumble strip or lane line.

 “We all deplore drink driving, but we don’t usually think about the effects of other things that affect our driving skills, and one of those is not drinking and dehydration,” said Professor Ron Maughan, chair of the European Hydration Institute (EHI) Science Advisory Board at the university, who also led the study. “There is no question that driving while under the influence of drink or drugs increases the risk of accidents, but our findings highlight an unrecognized danger and suggest that drivers should be encouraged to make sure they are properly hydrated.”

With driver errors accountable for 68% of all vehicle crashes in the UK, the European Hydration Institute is urging drivers to be cautious and ensure they are adequately hydrated before setting off on journeys, especially during the warmer summer months. 

“Anecdotal evidence suggests that many drivers avoid drinking on long journeys to minimize bathroom stops, yet we know that even mild hydration can cause symptoms such as headache, tiredness and lethargy,” said Maughan. “Driver error is by far the largest cause of road traffic accidents and the EHI wanted to test whether mild hydration had an impact on the incidence of common driver errors.”

To prevent dehydration, the Mayo Clinic in the U.S. recommends not just drinking plenty of fluids, yet avoiding those with caffeine and alcohol, but to also eat foods high in water, such as fruits and vegetables.

Even if truckers are lucky enough to avoid being out hot weather that much, they can still get dehydrated.

According to the study, “evaporative water losses from the skin and lungs are likely to accumulate during a long drive due to exposure to dry air because of the increased vapor pressure gradient.”

In other words, a person can still get dehydrated with the air conditioner blasting if they don’t replenish their fluids on a regular basis.