Being fatigued significantly raises the risk of a crash. It makes us less alert to what is happening on the road, and less able to react quickly and safely if a dangerous situation arises. Driver fatigue contributes to more than 25 per cent of road crashes in Victoria.
Are you at risk?
The two main causes of fatigue are lack of quality sleep and driving at times when you would normally be asleep. By not getting enough sleep you will build up a sleep debt.
Sleep debt
If you don’t get enough sleep you go into debt – you ‘owe’ yourself more sleep – and the only way to repay this debt is by sleeping.
Until you catch up on your sleep, you have a greater risk of having a fatigue-related crash.
Other risk factors
You also put yourself at risk of a fatigue-related crash if you:
- Drive in the early morning (1am-6am), as for most of us this is the time that we would normally be sleeping. Also driving in the ‘afternoon lull’ (1pm-5pm), when our biological time clock makes most of us feel sleepy
- Start a trip after a long day’s work
- Have a sleep disorder such as sleep apnoea. Symptoms of sleep apnoea include heavy snoring broken by sudden periods of silence, restless sleep and constantly being tired during the day.
What are the danger signs?
Signs of fatigue include:
- Constant yawning
- Drifting in the lane
- Sore or heavy eyes
- Trouble keeping your head up
- Delayed reactions
- Daydreaming
- Difficulty remembering the last few kilometres
- Variations in driving speed.
What if I start to feel tired?
If you start to feel tired when you’re driving, you should:
- Take a Powernap.
Research shows that a Powernap of 10 minutes or more can significantly lower the risk of a fatigue-related crash.
Another positive strategy is to have a preventative Powernap, i.e. have a nap before you start your trip.
How to avoid driver fatigue
To protect yourself from having a fatigue-related crash:
- Make sure you regularly get enough sleep
- Be aware of your biological clock, namely that you are at an increased accident risk when driving between 1am-6am and 1pm-5pm
- Don’t start a long trip after a long day’s work.
Once you’re on the road:
- Take regular rest breaks to help avoid the onset of fatigue. However, be aware that rest by itself is of short-term benefit and a Powernap is a much more effective method of reducing accident risk. VicRoads maintains a network of rest areas, wayside stops and truck parking bays across the State, and there are many 24 hour commercial facilities, particularly on major routes
- Eat proper and well-balanced meals, preferably at your normal
meal times.
Don’t be fooled by myths about fatigue!
The following common beliefs about fatigue are untrue.
- Having a short break will keep me safe. Having regular breaks might help delay the onset of fatigue, but once you are fatigued you must sleep.
- Coffee is the best way to combat fatigue. Coffee only provides short-term benefits; once its effects wear off, you suffer from sleep rebound which is a major cause of accidents.
- Playing music will help keep me alert. This provides only a short-term benefit.
- Plenty of fresh air through the window will help keep me alert. Again, this is desirable but if you are fatigued, it only provides a short-term benefit.
- Young people need less sleep. In fact, drivers under 25 years of age are over-represented in fatigue-related crashes.
- I know when I am tired, or when I am having sleep attacks. The danger is that you only find out how tired you are when it’s too late.
Drowsy driving is like drink driving
Research has shown that going without sleep for 17 hours has the same effect on driving ability as a Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) of .05. Going without sleep for 24 hours has the same effect as a BAC of .1.
In other words, driving when fatigued may not be illegal, but it’s just as dangerous as drink driving!
Remember – the only cure for fatigue is sleep.
