MORE drivers are dying from nodding off at the wheel than through drink driving, according to shock statistics revealed at a major police conference.

Make sure you 'Arrive Alive' was the message put across at the annual Police Federation Conference recently.

But Inspector Martin Ellis, chairman of the Thames Valley Police Authority, said the message is not getting across to many motorists.

He added: "While drink driving related accidents are tragic, there are thousands dying while they fall asleep at the wheel.

"Why aren't we doing more in respect of fighting sleep deprivation - it's a killer problem."

Professor Jim Horne from the Sleep Research Centre at Loughborough University told the conference that there are 40,000 serious injuries every year related to driving with sleep deprivation.

He also told police representatives that there were more than three thousand fatalities caused by nodding off on the roads last year.

These statistics compare to 400 people killed and a further 2,430 injured in drink-drive incidents on Britain's roads in 1999.

Mr Ellis said: "Whereas HGV drivers have restrictions on how often they have to stop during a drive, motorists in other vehicles can drive around all day without stopping.

"Sleep deprivation is a killer but little seems to be done about it."

However Inspector Malcolm Collis, from Bicester Traffic base, said they accept there is a problem but officers find it difficult to detect tired motorists. He said: "People would not always admit to falling asleep at the wheel and evidence that someone's eye lids are heavy would hardly stand up in court."