You’ve likely seen the alarming findings of Australia’s three-year Driving Health Project. Truck drivers are 13 times more likely to die at work than other Australians, and four times more likely to get injured. Concerningly, though perhaps not surprisingly, the overwhelming majority of work-related deaths in truckies is due to vehicle crashes.
Fatigue can be fatal
This study also uncovered some disturbing facts on fatigue, one of the biggest safety risks for employees and businesses in this sector.
• 62.1 per cent of truck drivers report experiencing fatigue whilst working.
• One in ten (11 per cent) truck drivers admitted to nodding off or falling asleep while driving in the last year.
• 17.5 per cent of truck drivers were defined as being at high risk due to poor sleep.
New Zealand is experiencing similar issues, with recent reports highlighting a 30 per cent increase in commercial drivers falling asleep at the wheel between 2021 and 2022.
Distraction can be just as deadly – and costly!
The NTI NTARC Major Crash Investigation 2022 Report found the proportion of large losses (>$50k) from driver inattention/distraction continues to increase year-on-year. In fact, it is now the cause of almost one in six (16.3 per cent) losses.
And the costs of an accident are not insignificant.
The direct costs of an accident can include property and damages, driver injury and medical expenses, legal outlays, immediate loss of revenue and administrative costs. An accident can also incur significant indirect costs, from workforce to equipment expenses and reputational damage.
It’s no surprise then, that many major distributors now require preventative technologies like Driver Monitoring System (DMS) technology, such as Guardian by Seeing Machines, in their vehicles, and those of their subcontractors.
It’s not just about cost, there’s the issue of complying with Chain of Responsibility (CoR) under the Heavy Vehicle National Law. Fleet owners and operators are obliged to identify and assess the risks involved in their transport duties and eliminate or minimise them as much as possible. And fatigue and distraction are clearly two of the biggest safety risks for employees and businesses in this sector.
Preventing accidents before they happen
Powered by Seeing Machines’ industry-leading technology, Guardian is a driver fatigue, distraction and accident prevention solution scientifically proven to reduce fatigue-related events by more than 90 per cent.
How? Through artificial intelligence and real-time, human intervention.
Sophisticated face- and eye-tracking algorithms built into the Guardian in-vehicle system monitor a driver’s attentiveness, intervening with real-time alerts if it detects a fatigue or distraction event. But what makes the Guardian solution truly unique is combining this powerful technology, driven by decades of Human Factors research, with 24/7 monitoring and intervention by real humans.
The Guardian Centre has a team of highly trained analysts literally working around the clock to review and classify every single risky driving incident captured by Guardian. Committed to getting everyone home safely, the Guardian Centre analysts then notify fleets within minutes of a confirmed fatigue event, so managers can intervene and protect drivers, their way.
Visit Connect Source at the Brisbane Truck Show (stand number 312) to learn more about Guardian by Seeing Machines, world-leading driver fatigue and distraction technology.
For more information, call 02 6103 4700 or visit guardian.seeingmachines.com/anz.