Researchers believe they may have come up with a new solution that will help keep truckers awake on the road long enough to get to the next rest stop - and the new solution involves a special blue light?

According to DailyTech.com, particular wavelengths of blue light shined on the drivers trick their brain into thinking its daytime and staying active.  They say by resetting their internal clocks, the number of fatal accidents could be greatly reduced. 

According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, 30 percent of all fatal accidents involving large trucks in the U.S. occur at night.

“The concept of using light to boost alertness is well established [in other areas]”, said Mariana Faguiera, co-author of the study. “Translating that understanding into a practical application is the next challenge.”

Faguiera says the critical point is finding practical ways to apply the findings.  She says that the lights could be installed directly in truck cabs, or could be placed at rest stops, allowing truckers to take half hour “light showers” allowing them to reawaken.

The research team also studied how the light differentially affects sleep-deprived and non-sleep deprived subjects during daytime hours. 

“These findings will also be applicable to transportation applications, since the accident rates during the afternoon hours are still higher than in the morning hours,” Faguiera stated.

Faguiera says the results have been promising on both categories. 

“After 45 minutes there is a clear effect,” she said. “You start to see a beautiful increase in brain activity in the 300 milliseconds response, which is a measure of alertness.”