A vehicle crash is rarely due to just one factor.  Australian research has highlighted the combined impact of distraction and fatigue in truck drivers and what the industry is doing about it.

Using Australia’s first Truck Simulator, Monash University researchers conducted tests on 74 truck drivers under different conditions.

The drivers were sleep deprived and then intentionally distracted during driver simulation for two-hours. Researchers recorded 29 crashes in the simulator, with 72% in fatigue condition and 28% of the crashes while drivers were alert. Drivers were twice as likely to crash when fatigued, but 11 times more likely to crash when fatigue and distraction were both present.

Researchers were also able to accurately detect a driver’s level of fatigue while the driver’s eyes were still open, in real-time, and before a safety critical event such as a micro sleep occurs.

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