The Halifax Courier refers to it as “research”. I sometimes wonder if these local papers know what that word actually means?
Apparently, drivers with a heavy cold should “think twice about getting behind the wheel” – according to this “new research”.
Driving: The Essential Skills – effectively the learner driver syllabus – says:
Fitness to drive
Don’t drive if you’re feeling tired or unwell. Even a cold can make it unsafe for you to drive . If you find you’re losing concentration or not feeling well, keep your speed down and give yourself more time to react.
Drugs
Medicines – check any medicines you’re taking to see if it affects your ability to drive. Even medicines for coughs and hay fever can make you drowsy.
So, perhaps we can assume that by “research” they mean that someone read this book?
The “research” is by an insurance company (Young Marmalade). The article goes on to regurgitate what is already written plainly in The Essential Skills as if it has just discovered this all by itself!
The whole point of the article is shot down by the police, who also mentioned the medication people might be taking:
If there is an accident and if someone is not fit to drive, careless driving might be there, but we would have to have evidence.
The entire point of the “research” is summed up by the insurance industry’s “suspicions” that a lot of “prangs” happen while people are “under the weather”. So, another piece of astounding science, eh?