It is not surprising, therefore, that little Kevin has taken an interest in motoring with all its big colour pictures of the latest automobiles. In fact, motoring has become his newspaper and I try to remember to bring it home each Friday for him to "read".

Recently, I’ve started to look through the motoring section myself and I’ve found that it often contains features that are very worthwhile reading. That is certainly true of the story I am featuring this week. As you will see, the information it contains is especially important for a young person like yourself.

There is no question that the most striking elements of the motoring section are its photos of flashy new automobiles. But the stories are also well worth reading. As you will see, this week's story contains some important information for young drivers like the two pictured above.

Even before you begin to read, look at the top of the article and it should be obvious that the story is about the dangers of falling asleep while driving. Of course, you already know that you need to stay awake at the wheel. That is common sense.

Use your common sense to answer the true-false questions that follow and then read the story to see if your ideas were correct.

Which of the following statements are true and which are false.

1. ___ Research shows that most people who fall asleep while driving tend to be above the age of 40 years old.
2. ___ Younger people tend to sleep better at night than older people.
3. ___ Older people appear to be better able to stay awake while very tired than do younger people.
4. ___ Younger drivers have an advantage over older drivers because they tend not to feel as sleepy after a bad night’s sleep.
5. ___ Researchers recommend that sleepy drivers have a cup of coffee or use another drink which contains caffeine.
6. ___ Pulling off the road and having a short sleep is often worse than not sleeping at all.
7. ___ If you are very determined, you can keep yourself awake while driving even if you are quite sleepy.
8. Most accidents which are caused by sleepy drivers occur in the early morning hours after midnight before the sun rises and again in the early afternoon hours.

Sleeping: The enemy Every day, someone dies through falling asleep at the wheel. Major new research reveals who is most at risk. KEITH HOWARD Return to the T/F questions. Suspected for many years, it has now been proven: drowsy drivers are a major cause of death and injury on our roads. Some researchers even claim drivers are at a greater risk of dying if they fall asleep at the wheel than if they suffer a heart attack. When you’re asleep, you don’t brake. New government-funded research, conducted by the Sleep Research Centre at Loughborough University in England, has concluded that 10% of all accidents, rising to 20% on motorways, are the result of drivers falling asleep at the wheel. With fatalities running at around 3500 on British roads annually, that means one person a day is being killed as the result of a driver nodding off. Although shocking, these findings don't come as a complete surprise. Previous police estimates and research from other countries have suggested similar figures. But the Loughborough research – which combined meticulous accident research with laboratory and test-track experiments – has turned up some unexpected statistics. Most surprising is that half the drivers who fall asleep at the wheel are men under 30. It's well known that various factors affect the likelihood of falling asleep while driving: time of day length of time you have been awake amount of sleep you last had quality of that sleep; and whether you've taken stimulants (eg coffee) or depressants (eg alcohol) What the Loughborough research indicates is that there are important psychological factors at work too. In particular, many young drivers are in denial about their risk of falling asleep while driving. In a new twist to the macho mind-set that’s blamed for many young males’ aggressiveness behind the wheel, it seems they also believe they can cheat tiredness. Only many don’t. Professor Jim Horne, who conducted the Loughborough study with colleague Dr Louise Reyner, even suggests that younger people, because they generally sleep better, may be less able to cope with the effects of tiredness than older people who sleep less well. "Young people, if they go without sleep, become just as sleepy as anybody else. But in fact the evidence is that the better you sleep, the more sleep deprivation will affect you." As well as studying the causes of driver drowsiness, the Loughborough research looked at how best to combat it. Attempts to remain awake by willpower alone don’t work, says Horne, and neither do winding down a window or turning up the stereo – at best these have temporary effects. "Drivers reach the stage of fighting sleep, of doing things to keep themselves awake – shuffling in their seat, opening the window – so they know they are sleepy. Sleepiness doesn’t just come out of the blue. "Even very sleepy people have 20 minutes of fighting sleep, so there’s plenty of time to pull off the road." Once you have done so, a dose of caffeine and a short nap are recommended. But because you can never be sure how much caffeine a service station coffee contains, the Loughborough team has been investigating caffeine-rich energy drinks instead, which provide a more reliable dose and are often more appealing to younger drivers. Other advice focuses on avoiding those times of day when our metabolisms are at a naturally low ebb. Statistics show distinct increases in accident rates between 2 am and 6 am. Then, our body temperature and hormonal activity decrease in the expectation of sleep. Young drivers are more likely to be on the road at these times, which enhances their risk. A second danger period occurs between 1 pm and 3 pm. "The poorer your sleep at night, the more likely you are to be affected by sleepiness in the early afternoon," warns Horne. Because drivers are aware they’re tired before they nod off, improved driver education is seen as the key to reducing sleep-related accidents. Government response to the Loughborough findings has been to launch two new advertisements within its Think! campaign.

Know these words and phrases drowsy sleepy; a condition between being asleep and being awake fatalities deaths from accidents or violence nodding off falling asleep meticulous very careful and detailed stimulant something which causes an increase in body activity depressant something which causes a decrease in body activity in denial refusing to believe or accept something twist unexpected or surprising happening or development macho behaving like a strong, very brave man mind-set way of thinking deprivation lacking something necessary combat to fight willpower determination; the ability to control yourself come out of the blue to happen suddenly and unexpectedly dose an amount of something nap a short sleep metabolism all the chemical processes in the body low ebb low level of activity hormonal involving chemical activity in the body

Follow up activity

Design a full-page newspaper advertisement to warn students at your school about the dangers of driving while feeling drowsy. Use information from the story and also think of one or more pictures that you could use to illustrate the points you make in your ad. Be sure to spend time thinking about a catchy theme and title for your ad.

Note: We’d like to see some examples from your class. You can send them to Educational Services, 6^th floor, Bangkok Post Building, 136 Na Ranong Rd, Khlong Toei, Bangkok 10110.

I also think the activities are quite appropriate. This is a situation where a pre-reading true-false exercise works very well because it helps students realise that common sense may not always lead to correct answers.

I also like the post-reading activity because its causes students to think about the information in the story in a creative and fun way. And the final product may even end up saving someone’s life.

I think many of your students will also enjoy this week’s premier league activity because it deals with a very fresh and timely topic, the FA.Cup. The exercise also offers a change of pace from what we have been doing this term. Your students will need to follow precise English-language directions to add teams and towns to their map.

Next week: Dealing with consumer complaints