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Journey beyond road trauma

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  • 1509 people were killed on Australian roads in 2009
  • 20% of all fatal road crashes are linked to fatigue

Did you realise it is risky to drive when you’re tired no matter how short the distance? Most people do it, and most of the time they’re okay, but the risks are real.


Ann Williamson - a professor in aviation safety for the University of NSW, and a transport safety expert, specialising in fatigue - says after 20 to 30 minutes of doing a boring task like driving, humans start to have task-related fatigue, not sleep related fatigue.

Ann says people are better at judging risk factors like speed and alcohol than they are at judging whether they’re too fatigued to drive.


From Jan 2008 to December 2009
  • 56.5% of fatal crashes occurred during the day
  • 45% of fatalities occurred at speeds of 100+ km/h
  • 23.3% speeds between 65-95km/h
  • 48.6% were single vehicle accidents

Ann says people should stop, revive at least every 2 hours

Here's what you should watch out for when driving
  1. The amount of sleep you’ve had
  2. The quality of sleep
  3. How long since you’ve been alseep
  4. Time of day you drive
  5. How long you’ve been driving

More info
http://www.journeybeyondroadtrauma.org

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