Overweight motorists with a common sleep disorder are potentially more dangerous on the roads than drunk drivers, a Midland doctor has claimed. Obesity is fuelling a rapid increase in a condition which is blamed for a high proportion of fatal motorway accidents. Hundreds of thousands of people suffering from sleep apnoea could be undiagnosed and respiratory physician Lee Dowson warned they could be more lethal behind the wheel than intoxicated motorists. Overweight people are prone to the disorder, which causes excessive day-time tiredness and makes sufferers literally fall asleep on their feet. GPs often misdiagnose the condition as exhaustion and overwork, although it can be treated successfully. An influential group of MPs, headed by Halifax Labour MP Alice Mahon, is now poised to introduce a Private Member's Bill to seek more Government funding for research into sleep apnoea. Sleep apnoea occurs when the muscles that hold the throat open relax as the person falls asleep. The airway is blocked off, prompting an increased pulse rate and blood pressure, which in turn lightens the level of sleep so the throat reopens. People with the disorder are heavy snorers and never get into deep levels of refreshing sleep, waking in the morning feeling exhausted. Most are unaware they are suffering sleep deprivation and attribute their tiredness to "burn out". Men with large collar sizes are particularly at risk because the excess fat around the throat puts greater pressure on the airway as the muscles relax during sleep. Falls in oxygen also puts them at increased risk of heart attacks and strokes. Dr Dowson, who runs a sleep clinic at New Cross Hospital, Wolverhampton, said: "With the epidemic of obesity that is hitting us, following the pattern of the United States, sleep apnoea is going to become an ever more increasing problem." A fifth of Britons are classified as obese and Dr Dowson has seen a four-fold increase in sleep apnoea cases in under two years. The vast majority of his patients are overweight. They are so tired they often fall asleep in mid-conversation during his medical consultations. "They are dangerous on the road and that is the big problem," said Dr Dowson. "If you put them on a driving simulator they do worse than people who are intoxicated with alcohol. "The real big problem with this is if you think of the commonest sort of predictors are if you are male, short and stocky with a big neck, and then if you think about what your average HGV driver looks like, you can imagine this is a massive problem. "Sleep apnoea probably accounts for many, many road deaths on the motorway. Most motorway accidents involve lorries and most of our lorry drivers are at risk of this." Martin Rogers' sleep apnoea went undiagnosed for years but he finally sought expert advice when he fell asleep at the wheel. Mr Rogers, aged 47, from Staffordshire, was driving home from a holiday in Wales when he dozed off. "I nearly rolled my Land Rover. For a split second I just lost it. I started to go off to sleep and my wife shouted at me. I turned the wheel and we went up a bank. It was terrifying," said Mr Rogers. He has now received treatment and is able to drive safely once again after experiencing unbroken sleep. Motorists diagnosed with sleep apnoea should declare it to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency but it is feared many keep the condition secret because they face losing their licence. Failure to declare the condition is an offence under the Road Traffic Act 1998, punishable with a £1,000 fine. | 
