Fatigue can affect anyone and is believed to be a contributing factor in at least 12 percent of motor vehicle crashes.
When you're fatigued, your judgement and decision making become badly affected and you react more slowly than you would normally. What's more, you're less able to judge how tired you are, which means you're even more at risk of falling asleep at the wheel. This can have fatal consequences.
Commercial drivers and their employers need to be aware of fatigue, how to recognise and and how to prevent it.
A number of training courses are available to help raise drivers' awareness of fatigue prevention techniques. For more information, contact MITO (NZ Motor Industry Training Organisation), the training organisation for the road transport industry, or ACC.
Visit the MITO website(external link)
Visit the ACC website(external link)
Explore these resources for more information on fatigue, and strategies for prevention:
