72
FLEET MANAGEMENT
Research Centre at University of NSW, Ann
has spent more time looking at why we do
the things we do on the roads than most of
us could possibly conceive.
“Ultimately, we don’t want people to be
tired while they’re driving,” she states
clearly. “We’ve predominantly focused on
the professional drivers who suffer from
fatigue the most, from long-distance to
short-course driving because it affects such
a broad range of people.”
In order for Ann to get into the heads of
fatigued drivers, whether it is the general
public or fleet operators, her mission
heavily involves studying and asking why
we do it.
“In order to address it, we look at why
people get tired. Working in OH&S in the
past, driver fatigue was a major issue, and
it’s an issue for anybody whose workforce
drives. Most people do understand when
they are fatigue and why, but we’ve done a
lot of work understanding how it’s caused.
“We look at three things: 1. How long since
you slept; 2. the quality of your sleep;
and 3. the length of your sleep. Sleep
researchers talk about the wakefulness
GOVLINK » ISSUE 3 2016
zone, where it’s almost impossible for
someone to try to get sleep. This is in the
mid-hours of the morning, around dawn,
and I stress there is absolutely no reason
any shift should be finishing at 5, 6, 7, or
8am, outside your circadian rhythm.”
But Ann emphasises her research is not
interested in sleep itself, it is purely about
the why, how and solutions for battling
fatigue, however she does acknowledge the
two overlap.
“Within 10 or 15 minutes of driving, your
attention can begin to wane. A massive
problem with this issue is there are simply
not enough places to take a break. But
it’s often not even about sleep at all.
Monotonous driving can also produce
decreases in alertness, with the same effect
as if you were drowsy.”
Ann’s research of late has involved using
driving simulators and sleep-deprived test
subjects to assess whether they can tell if
they themselves are too tired to drive.
“We got them to do a two-hour
monotonous drive on a country road and
make judgements of how they felt every
200 seconds, on a scale of 1 to 9. People