Friday, Apr 04, 2014 at 08:17
Hugh,
thanks for bringing up the subject.
I reckon falling asleep is a far bigger factor in the road toll than we presently credit it for. (The other under-estimated factor is deliberate crashing for the purpose of suicide.) I say this from my experience working in a rural emergency department, my personal experience as a driver, and listening to what the ambos and cops tell me about what they see at the roadside.
When I started seriously touring over twenty years ago, I was capable of driving for over 24 hours straight without experiencing signs or symptoms of fatigue. We all know what they are: changes in visual concentration, vision "flicking", repeated wandering off the preferred line, visual hallucinations (seeing roos or logs on the road that don't exist), actually falling asleep momentarily, drifting onto the wrong side of the road or onto the shoulder. Drifting into the oncoming traffic or the woodwork may not always be remembered!
Over the last few years I've been doing a lot of "non-leisure" highway driving, often after a ten hour working day. There have been many times where I have struggled with fatigue within an hour or two of my destination. I've tried caffeine, listening to interesting podcasts, blasting cold air on my face, stopping to stretch the legs. The thing that works best for me is pulling over for a kip.
The problem with fatigue management, is that we are often reluctant to admit we are tired (driving 2,500 km straight is a badge of honour!), we are keen to get
home rather than pull over somewhere in the bush, or we may be under some sort of commercial pressure.
I often wonder when the sign says that police are targeting fatigue what they actually look for - people slumped over the wheel? Managing fatigue is a personal responsibility, and the first step is specific information rather than vague platitudes. Unfortunately, road safety messages are often treated cynically, because people are rightly cynical about some government measures in this regard (eg the simplistic 'speed kills' message as the rationale for revenue raising).
So I welcome your raising of the subject.
Bob
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Follow Up By: Member - Hugh D (WA) - Friday, Apr 04, 2014 at 12:30
Friday, Apr 04, 2014 at 12:30
Bob,
Just a shame more of our Revenue Earner dollars are not spent on driver education. All good to put a few signs around, ( we are so sign blind these days due to heaps of the things) but go and talk to drivers and company managers to assist with fatigue management does not appear on the agenda.
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