Roadsafe Hawke's Bay - Fatigue

Fatigue

Fatigue is tiredness, weariness or exhaustion. You can be fatigued enough for it to impair your driving long before you 'nod off' at the wheel - which is an extreme form of fatigue.

In 2019, fatigue was a contributing factor in 17 fatal crashes, 85 serious injury crashes and 491 minor injury crashes.

Driver fatigue is difficult to identify or recognise as contributing to a crash. This means it's likely that fatigue is under-recorded, and contributes to more crashes than we realise. Fatigue needs to be taken very seriously.

How fatigue can affect you

• Slower reactions
• Difficult concentrating
• Poor risk judgment
• Excessive speed changes
• Centre line drift

These effects lead to a high number of single vehicle crashes involving a car striking a tree or other rigid object, and severe head-on collisions.

Warning signs of fatigue

• Restlessness
• Blinking frequently
• Yawning
• Breaking too late
• Forgetting the last few k's
• Drowsiness

Common myths

Common myths - Coffee, music, fresh air will only help with fatigue for the short term. Stopping and getting a good night's sleep is the only cure.

What can I do about it?

• Take a break from driving, every 2 hours
• Drive during daylight hours - when you could normally be awake
• Share driving - swap drivers if possible
• Have a power nap - no more than 20 minutes for best effect.

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20 October 2020

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