The effects of driver fatigue have been implicated in a large number of truck crashes and road fatalities in other countries. While there are no extensive studies of fatigue-related road accidents in New Zealand, the road characteristics and driving environment here make any decrease in performance due to driver fatigue a significant potential threat to road safety. This paper describes an on-going Road Safety Trust-sponsored study of how common driver fatigue is in New Zealand and the degree to which NZ truck drivers suffer from fatigue related effects. Using a portable driving simulator installed in a caravan, volunteer truck drivers are asked to complete a brief survey (about their driving hours and their amount of sleep in the past 48 hours, how sleepiness affects them, and the level of fatigue they feel at that moment), and go for a "drive" on the driving simulator (measuring their vehicle control and reaction times) as they stop their trucks at depots, rest stops, and cargo terminals throughout the day and night. In comparison to indirect measures of fatigue, such as inspection of driving hours in log books, the fitness-for-duty test has obvious job relevance (measuring actual driving performance) and enjoys a high degree of driver acceptance. (A)
Abstract