Driver Fatigue
Driver Fatigue accounts for about 20% of road deaths in NSW.
Driver fatigue is particularly dangerous because it affects everyone, no matter how experienced a driver you are.
What is driver fatigue?
Fatigue is a term used to describe the feeling of being ‘sleepy’, ‘tired’ or ‘exhausted’.
This is your body’s way of telling you that you need to stop and rest or sleep. The
best way to avoid driver fatigue is to make sure you have plenty of sleep before you
set off. The only way to treat driver fatigue once you have already started driving is to
stop and rest until you are refreshed.
Facts about fatigue
Fatigue fact 1 Fatigue is associated with the hours when you would normally be
asleep. The risk of having a fatal fatigue crash is four times greater between the
hours of 10pm and 6am because this is when your body is programmed to sleep.
Your temperature falls and your blood pressure drops so that at night and to some
extent during the afternoon, your ability to perform tasks can be severely impaired.
This includes your ability to drive.
Your circadian rhythms (natural sleep pattern) cause this type of fatigue and there
is nothing you can do to stop it. So if you drive at night or early in the morning
your risk of driver fatigue is increased.
Fatigue fact 2 The average person needs about eight hours of sleep each night
to function normally, teenagers need even more. When you reduce the number of
hours you sleep at night you start to accumulate what is called a ‘sleep debt’. The
only way to treat your sleep debt is by sleeping.
Fatigue fact 3 Fatigue is caused by how long you have been awake. After being
awake for 17 hours the risk of driver fatigue is greatly increased.
Fatigue fact 4 You have a high risk of suffering from fatigue immediately after
you wake up, when you still feel groggy. This is called ‘sleep inertia’ and generally
lasts between 15 to 30 minutes. Wait until you have overcome sleep inertia before
you drive.
All these factors will increase your fatigue.
Fatigue fact 5 The risk of driver fatigue increases with the amount of time you
have spent driving. To reduce fatigue you should aim to stop for 15 minutes every
two hours. But remember, the only cure for fatigue is a good night’s sleep.
Signs of driver fatigue
Driver fatigue severely impairs your concentration and judgement; it slows your
reaction time. In fact, some of the effects of fatigue are as dangerous as the effects
of alcohol on your driving. As you drive, watch for early warning signs of driver
fatigue:
• Yawning.
• Poor concentration.
• Tired or sore eyes.
• Restlessness.
• Drowsiness.
• Slow reactions.
• Boredom.
• Feeling irritable.
• Making fewer and larger steering corrections.
• Missing road signs.
• Having difficulty staying in the lane.
If you feel tired and you notice these signs it is time to STOP. REVIVE.
SURVIVE. Regular breaks every two hours will help avoid fatigue.
Tips on avoiding driver fatigue
• Get plenty of sleep before starting off.
• Avoid starting a long drive at the end of the day.
• Avoid driving between 10pm and 6am or when you would normally be asleep.
• Share the driving if you can.
• Aim to stop for 15 minutes every two hours.
• Pull over and stop when you notice the warning signs of fatigue.
• Have light snacks rather than fatty foods.
• Avoid too much coffee or sweet soft drinks.
• Drink plenty of water – dehydration can cause fatigue.
• Stay away from alcohol at all costs.
• Stop before you’re tired.
A microsleep is a brief and unintended loss of consciousness.
It is characterised by head snapping, nodding or closing your eyes for
more than a couple of seconds. Microsleeps occur when you try to
stay awake to perform a monotonous task such as driving and can last
from a few seconds to a few minutes.
During a four second microsleep a car travelling at 100 km/h will travel
more than 110 metres while completely out of the driver’s control.
Stop and Revive. Stop before you’re tired.
