Driver Fatigue
Symptoms, Cause and Effects
Being fatigued significantly increases the risk of a crash.
It makes us less aware of what is
happening on the road and impairs our ability to respond
quickly and safely if a dangerous
situation arises. Driver fatigue is believed to contribute
to more than 30% of road crashes.
Symptoms of driver fatigue
It is very difficult for drivers to accurately assess their
own level of fatigue. The ability to self assess
becomes increasingly impaired as you get more fatigued,
however the self-confidence in
this ability remains. Nevertheless, there are some warning
signs to look out for, including:
- Trouble focusing, or narrowing of attention
- Head nodding, or inability to keep the eyes open
- Not remembering the last few minutes
- Poor judgment, slower reaction time
- "Zoning out"
- Daydreaming and wandering thoughts
- Constant yawning or rubbing your eyes
- Drifting in the lane
Keep in mind that if you are experiencing any of these
symptoms of driver fatigue, it is very
likely that your driving performance is already impaired.
Causes of driver fatigue
There are two main causes of driver fatigue:
- Lack of quality/quantity of sleep
- Driving at times of the day when you would normally be sleeping.
The end result is not getting enough sleep, which can lead
to a build-up of a "sleep debt or
deficit" – this is essentially the sleep that you 'owe'
yourself. The only way to repay this debt is
by sleeping.
Until you can catch up on lost sleep you will have a greater
risk of having a fatigue-related
accident.
A number of factors influence the likelihood that a driver
will become fatigued, these include:
- How long you have been awake (particularly beyond about 17 hours)
- Time of day: your body and brain have a biological clock (circadian rhythm) that
- influences how alert or drowsy we are at certain times of the day
- The quantity and quality of your last period of sleep
- Nobody is immune to the effects of driver fatigue; however some groups of people are
- more at risk than others:
- Young drivers: the combination of inexperience and night driving
- Shift workers: Shift workers are 6 times more likely to be
in a fatigue-related
crash, whether that be at work (operating machinery or vehicles) or commuting - Extended hours workers: Employees working extended hours for emergency or
- public safety needs
- Commercial drivers: Long distance driving, often at night
- Business travelers: Drivers suffering from jet lag and crossing time zones oftensuffer from restricted and/or poor quality sleep
- Your level of physical or mental activity at the time (e.g.
long boring stretches of road
make it difficult to maintain alertness and vigilance)
- The presence of untreated sleep disorders (such as obstructive sleep apnea or narcolepsy)
- Sedative drugs
Effects and consequences of driver fatigue
The consequences of driver fatigue can be disastrous.
Because fatigue impairs mental processing
and decision making abilities, drivers can lapse into a
"micro-sleep" without realizing it. This
may only last a few seconds, but if it coincides with the
need to perform some critical driving
task (e.g. turning the wheel or responding to a stop
signal); the risk of crashing is greatly
increased.
These accidents typically involve a single vehicle that
departs
the driving lane and collides with another object, such as a
tree
beside the road. The driver is often alone, having been
driving
for some hours, often between midnight and 6am. The
consequences
of accidents attributed to driver fatigue are often the most
serious
in terms of death, injuries and property damage because the
fatigued
driver makes no attempt to avoid the impending crash.
This is why the effects of driver fatigue are so dangerous.
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