DRIVERS are ignoring lessons from the Selby rail crash by failing to heed warnings about falling asleep at the wheel.

Road safety charity Brake said a survey that it carried out showed drivers were travelling too long without a break.

It highlighted the case of Gary Hart whose Land-Rover crashed through barriers on the East Coast Mainline and collided with a train, causing ten deaths, after he fell asleep at the wheel.

Brake questioned 500 drivers at stretches along the M1 and M62, in Yorkshire, with nearly one in five driving more than the recommended two hours without a break.

And when they did stop, 80 per cent said they did so for reasons other than having a break.

Last night, North Yorkshire traffic officer PC Brian Rogers said research showed as many as one in six accidents were the result of drivers falling asleep.

The Government sponsored research was carried out in 1997/98 on the A1 and A168/A19 motorways in the county.

PC Rogers, who has 26 years experience on the region's roads, said: "Sleep is a killer and that is the message that we are trying to get across.

"At this time of year we have particular problems as well with holidaymakers driving long distances, which they may not be used to and not prepared for."