Fatigue is extreme tiredness resulting from mental or physical effort.
A fatigued driver will feel tired and possibly drowsy, and he or she may not be able to adequately perform the required driving task. Fatigue may also lead to drivers falling asleep.
It is well established that drivers who are fatigued are more likely to have a serious accident than drivers who are not fatigued. Research studies estimate that fatigue causes 20-30% of fatal road crashes. In line with this, reports based on comprehensive accident analyses place fatigue alongside alcohol as one of the major causes of road accidents. In many senses, however, fatigue is a bigger problem than alcohol. It is less well understood, it can neither be seen nor measured directly, and the onset of its effects is more difficult to predict. Evidence suggests that drivers are not inclined to postpone a journey as a result of feeling fatigued, and if they feel fatigued while driving they often carry on driving. Drivers are insufficiently aware of the risks associated with fatigued driving, and are not inclined to view driving while tired as socially unacceptable. The problem of fatigue while driving for work can be helped by proper journey planning and by implementing fatigue management programmes.
Time pressure and work-related stress decrease driver performance and vigilance and increase crash risk. Studies reveal that high levels of work pressure are predictive of road crashes in work-related drivers. Tight schedules constitute a risk factor both because drivers may be distracted from the driving task, and because they lead to speeding.
Fatigue is extreme tiredness resulting from mental or physical effort.