Australians continue driving longer than two hours without pulling over for a break.
Smiths Lawyers has published a report which found more than half of Australian drivers refuse to take a rest after driving for two hours on long journeys.
Staring into the Christmas holiday period and with a national road toll 8% higher (with 1012 recorded road deaths) than at this time in 2018, the NSW roads authority shows fatigue caused more crashes than drink driving between 2013-2017.
The survey has found 43% of drivers do act responsibly by stopping every two hours, but nearly 32% are pushing three hours before stopping, while another 20% go as long as four or more hours without pulling over for a break and considering how their actions could affect other road users.
Men are most likely to push the envelope, with 39% of blokes stopping every two hours, while 53% of women are doing the right thing – meaning women are 25% more likely to do what they should and take a breather. Men are twice as likely to fall asleep behind the wheel.
Even worse, 64% of 18-24 year-olds are driving more than three hours without stopping – which marries up to the fact 17-25 year-olds are among the most-represented age group in road death statistics. In the last 12 months 241 young adults aged 17-25 were killed on our roads, making up 20% of the people who won’t be celebrating Christmas in 2019.
Fatigue-related deaths in NSW have dropped by 45% in the last 18 years.
Driving after being awake for 17 hours results in effected performance equivalent to a blood-alcohol content of 0.05.
Centre For Road Safety executive director Bernard Carlon
Crashes due to tiredness are twice as likely to be fatal than other crashes – because drivers who are asleep can’t brake,” says Centre For Road Safety executive director Bernard Carlon.
“It can also affect you on shorter, everyday trips like heading off to work early in the morning or driving home after a long day,” he adds.
“You need to consider how tired you are any time you drive, day or night, regardless of the length of your trip, Carlon concludes.
