Holiday drivers leaving home often put themselves in the same dangerous situations as shiftwork and contract commuters returning home.
That is according to CQU researcher Lee Di Milia, who has just completed a study of driver fatigue suffered by shiftworkers and contractors who often drive long distances home after night work or after long stints on the job.
Dr Di Milia said holiday drivers may be tempted to leave before dawn and drive all day to get their destination so they will have more time to relax. However, he said those tempted to dash to their holiday would be safer if they traveled during the day and broke their journey to enjoy the trip more.
“When we talk about driver fatigue zones, it is not necessarily the road conditions at fault; it is also the condition of the driver who is trying to travel between two far-flung cities without having a break.” Dr Di Milia said introduction of extended working shifts and increased use of contractors had produced an occupational health and safety issue not previously considered in risk assessment; the impact of driver fatigue in addition to long work shifts.
He said extended shifts enabled some workers to parcel several days away into a series of short but regular holidays that are made possible by driving long distances. However, since long roster breaks usually follow a series of night shifts a mounting level of fatigue could be compounded by driving.
“Driving after working night shift is considered most problematic and longer distances serve to potentially increase the risk. However, those working four to five 12-hour day shifts also reported high levels of fatigue when driving home.” Dr Di Milia said the trend towards drive-in drive-out contractors created another pool of workers keen to drive long distances home immediately after extended stints of work.