What all this means for you as a driver, is that you will usually be at your best, most
alert and safest when driving during the morning, the late afternoon and early evening.
You will usually be at your worst between midnight and 6am when the body clock turns
your alertness down. This is a dangerous time for drivers.
Information from road crashes shows this is true. Although there are fewer drivers on
the road between midnight and 6am, statistics show they can be up to 20 times more
likely to have a crash during those hours.
Sleep Factors
There is only one way to prevent fatigue, and that is to get enough sleep.
Seven and a half hour’s sleep is generally recognised as an average and normal need.
If you get much less than this you will suffer fatigue. You will feel tired during the day
but you will feel much worse at night when your body clock turns your alertness down.
You will also be a danger to yourself and others on the road. If you have not had any
sleep for 17-18 hours, your ability to drive will be the same as if you had a BAC of
0.05 per cent.
Not only is that way over the 0.00 per cent BAC limit for a novice driver, but it also
means your crash risk doubles.
You may like to go out at night and stay out, until the early hours of the morning. Just
be aware that if you drive when you have not had enough sleep you are taking a big
risk. If you crash because you are not alert, you are likely to be held responsible.
Work Factors
Long working hours or study hours or physically tiring work can affect your ability to
drive. If you are a shift worker then you need to
take extra care.
Research shows that shift workers are six times
more likely to be involved in ‘fatigue-related’ road
crashes than other workers.