Question 1 Part C

Strange things happen in the dead of night. A car leaves a dark and lonely
highway, apparently at full speed, and slams into an unforgiving tree. Nobody
sees it happen and the driver is dead. On another country road, a car drifts
from its lane for no obvious reason and smashes into an oncoming truck,
killing all the car's occupants.
More than likely, these crashes were caused by fatigue drivers either falling
asleep at the wheel or so e!hausted they made serious " and fatal " driving
errors.
#atigue is thought to be one of the biggest killers on Australian roads,
rivalling the e$ects of speed and alcohol. %ut the full e!tent of its role is not
really known " unlike alcohol and drugs, fatigue can't be tested for in post&
mortems. 'his is the reason for the big di$erence between the lowest and
highest estimates of the role of fatigue in the Australian road toll.
One study based on coronial and police reports found that fatigue played a
part in only ( per cent of fatal crashes in )*++. A more recent survey ,for
)**-. raised this /gure to about )+ per cent. 0t included not only those
crashes in which police identi/ed fatigue as a cause, but also cases where the
crash description suggested 'loss of concentration' had been a contributing
factor. A third review found that around 12 per cent of rural crashes in
3estern Australia could be attributed to fatigue. And a fourth study, by the
Australian 'ransport Safety %ureau, reckoned that fatigue was a factor in over
)4 per cent of the total crashes on Australian roads in )**+.
5elated site #atigue&related crashes An analysis of fatigue&related crashes
on Australian roads using an operational de/nition of fatigue
An e!ecutive summary of the full report.
,Australian 'ransport Safety %ureau.
0n the Australian 'ransport Safety %ureau study, fatigue&related crashes were
de/ned by /rst e!cluding all crashes involving alcohol, unlicensed drivers or
pedestrians and those occurring in areas where the speed limit was less than
+2 kilometres per hour, and then counting all remaining head&on crashes and
any single&vehicle crashes between midnight and 4 am, and between 6 pm
and - pm ,the two periods of the day when the e$ects of fatigue are most
evident.. 'his is a pragmatic de/nition7 it has the advantage of being
repeatable in other studies, but it risks missing some crashes in which fatigue
was a factor and of counting others where it wasn't.
3hy does fatigue cause accidents8
'he e$ects of fatigue on driver performance have been documented in
numerous studies in which sub9ects were re:uired to perform driving tasks
after long hours of wakefulness. #atigue manifests itself in
slower reaction times fatigue increases the time taken to react in an
emergency7
reduced vigilance sub9ects perform worse on attention&based tasks when
sleep&deprived. #or e!ample, a fatigued driver will be slower to notice
oncoming ha;ards, such as roadworks or a railway crossing7 and
information processing fatigue reduces both the ability to process
information and the accuracy of short&term memory. 'hus, a fatigued driver
may not remember the previous few minutes of driving and will be slower in
evaluating oncoming ha;ards.
5elated site <evelopment of measures of fatigue =sing an alcohol
comparison to validate the e$ects of fatigue on performance
>ompares the e$ectiveness of di$erent tests for measuring fatigue.
,Australian 'ransport Safety %ureau.
'he >entre for Sleep 5esearch at #linders =niversity in South Australia has
likened fatigue&induced impairments to those caused by alcohol a person
kept awake for )? hours will perform at a standard comparable to that of
someone with a blood&alcohol concentration ,%A>. of 2.2( per cent ,the legal
limit in Australia.. After 6- hours without sleep, a person will have capabilities
similar to someone with a %A> of 2.)2 per cent.
%ut probably the greatest ha;ard posed by fatigue is the risk of sleep itself. A
fatigued driver who remains awake will probably be able to take some
,perhaps belated. action to avert a crash, but one who has fallen asleep must
rely solely on luck for survival.
>ircadian rhythms
5esearchers have long noted that fatigue&related accidents tend to occur in
two distinct periods of the day " between midnight and 4 am, and between
about 6 pm and - pm. 'hese periods coincide with typical low&points in our
daily pattern of alertness, or circadian rhythm ,the word 'circadian' is derived
from two @atin words circa, meaning 'about', and dies, meaning 'day'..
Most organisms follow a daily routine ,circadian rhythm.. Songbirds, for
e!ample, mark sunrise and sunset with their vocal&chords. Many Australian
marsupials sleep during the day and go about their business in the relative
cool of the night. Are these routines based purely on e!ternal factors8 #or
e!ample, do nocturnal animals simply get up when they notice that the sun
has set, or is their behaviour also governed by some internal timing
mechanism8
Scientists have shown that most organisms have internal 'clocks'. 0f the sun
failed to rise one day, songbirds would still sing their usual tune. Alants whose
leaves track the sun will continue to do so if kept in a perpetually dark room "
as noted in )?6* by the #rench scientist d'Ortous de Mairan.
Scientists have gathered molecular evidence for an internal clock in humans
,%o! ) >ircadian rhythms at the molecular level., but circumstantial evidence
is provided by the modern phenomenon of 9et&lag. 'ravellers who have moved
between time ;ones " say, from Australia to the =nited Bingdom ,a di$erence
of about )2 hours. " typically /nd it diCcult to sleep, even when tired. 0t
might be )2 pm in @ondon and theoretically bedtime, but according to the
body&clock it's + am and time to get up.
0n humans, the circadian rhythm is controlled by a small region of the brain
called the suprachiasmatic nucleus ,S>N.. 'he S>N is located in the
hypothalamus, which regulates many functions of the autonomic nervous
system.
One of the main ways in which the S>N transmits its time&related information
is by stimulating the production of melatonin, a hormone manufactured in the
pineal gland at the base of the brain. Melatonin levels typically increase in
the body after sunset and reach their peak between )6 midnight and 4 am.
'his corresponds with the body's lowest levels of alertness and body
temperature and its lowest capacity for the processing of incoming
information. A second, smaller trough in these functions occurs in the
afternoon, commonly between about 6 and - pm.
'hese two dips in the circadian rhythm are dangerous for drivers. #atigue&
related crashes are thought to be about twice as high at 6 pm as they are at
)2 am, and nearly si! times as high at 6 am.
3hat sleep does
5elated site Stages of sleep
<escribes the brain wave activity associated with di$erent sleep stages.
,Asychology 3orld, Missouri =niversity of Science and 'echnology, =SA.
Scientists have identi/ed /ve stages of sleep
stage ) ,light sleep.,
stages 6&- ,deep or delta&wave sleep.,
stage ( ,rapid&eye&movement ,5DM. sleep., which is the stage in which our
most vivid dreams occur.
Dach sleep cycle " comprising the /ve stages " takes about *2 minutes. 'hus,
someone sleeping for + hours will sleep through about (E cycles.
'he di$erent stages consume di$erent amounts of the sleep :uota stage ),
for e!ample, usually makes up less than )2 per cent of a full night's sleep,
while the 5DM stage might span about 6( per cent ,although percentages
vary by age group..
Surprisingly little is known about the physiological role of sleep and the ways
in which it restores the brain to its full functions. %ut the e$ects of fatigue on
the brain can be measured. Studies have shown that after 6- hours of
sustained wakefulness the brain's metabolic activity can decrease by up to 4
per cent in total and by up to )) per cent in speci/c areas of the brain "
particularly those that play a role in 9udgement, attention and visual
functions.
Measures to prevent fatigue&related crashes
>hanges to road design, such as those listed below, could help prevent
fatigue&related crashes
sealing road shoulders so that drivers can maintain better control if they drift
o$ the road7
providing 'audio&tactile' edge linings so that drivers can hear and feel when
their tyres cross the line7
ensuring that there is an ade:uate number of rest areas so that long&distance
drivers are able to take fre:uent breaks7
building divided highways to minimise the risk of head&on collisions7 and
removing roadside ha;ards such as poles and trees to prevent collisions.
Aublic education campaigns to warn of the dangers of driving while fatigued
also play an important role in reducing fatigue&related crashes.
Managing fatigue
0t is clear that the best way to manage fatigue is simply to get enough sleep.
Medical researchers suggest that + hours a night is about the right amount
for most people, although some, particularly those with sleep disorders ,%o!
6 Sleep disorders., might /nd this diCcult to achieve.
Other fatigue management techni:ues might help. #or e!ample, recent
research at #linders =niversity has shown that sub9ects waking from a )2&
minute nap demonstrate an immediate signi/cant increase in alertness and
mental performance that lasts for at least an hour afterwards. 0n contrast, a
12&minute nap fails to produce a similar immediate increase ,although it does
induce an increase about 12 minutes after the end of the nap.. One useful
practice for fatigued drivers, then, is to pull over and take a short 'power'
nap.
Farious road&safety publications outline other fatigue&management
techni:ues. #or e!ample, Fic5oads advocates that drivers should
5elated site Dye tracker
'ranscript of a television program describing a fatigue&detecting device that
tracks movements of the driver's head.
Guantum ( April 622) ,Australian %roadcasting >orporation.
have an action plan to manage fatigue ,eg, plan regular rest&stops and set
realistic travel goals.7
understand the signs of fatigue ,eg, constant yawning, blurred vision, slowed
reactions, heavy or sore eyes, poor concentration, impatience, not
remembering the last few kilometres of the trip, etc.. 'echnologies are being
developed that might assist this7
avoid driving during 'normal' sleep times ,between midnight and 4 am for
most people.7
stop if feeling sleepy and take a nap7
obtain suCcient high&:uality sleep between periods of driving7 and
avoid alcohol.
Maintaining a sensible sleep regime is the key. <riving and drowsiness are not
good bedfellows7 in the dead of night, it's better to wrap yourself around a
pillow than around a highway ghost&gum.
Answers
'he article is about the dangers of driver fatigue, what driver fatigue is, amnd
what diver fatigue has odne over the years including places where you may
be able to /nd more information. the /rst point is why fatigue casses
accidents, the second is how sleep remedies driver fatigue, and ways to
manage and prevent driver fatigue.