In the recent past, there have been a lot of accidents that are seemingly unexplainable. In the early mornings of week days, there is a lot of traffic build up as we try to drop kids at school before to also proceed to work.
The fumes from vehicles around us, the anxiety and fear of reaching late will be contributory to the overall trip. In the evenings, we all pick the kids at the same time. Even those who are not picking kids are rushing home or to their favourite social places. All roads become competitive. As if that is not enough, there is a lot of heat; a combination of weather and the many engines that are combusting several gallons of fuel at that time.
As we rush back home, most of us are already tired after a day’s work. Others like the taxi drivers have also been driving since the early hours of the morning. Seeing things through a drowsy haze, a tired driver might need several seconds to recognise danger and decide what to do about it.
Fatigue mitigation
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Fatigue affects performance; a reduction in alertness, longer reaction times, memory problem, poorer psychometric coordination, and less efficient information processing. Fatigue also has an effect on task motivation. The motivation to carry out a task diminishes, the communication and interaction with the surroundings deteriorates and one gets irritated more easily and reacts more aggressively towards people and other things.
We all go through those conditions although the degree of fatigue and control of the aggressiveness differs. The time of day also matters. Regardless of the machine you are handling, fatigue can cause accidents.
If you are going to drive long distance, it is important to be fully rested before you embark on such strenuous travels. Driving requires the entire system to be fully functional and synchronised. What the eyes are seeing should immediately be communicated to the brake/ accelerator foot and the steering hands. The moment there is a delayed coordination between any of those, there will be failure.
There must be increased public education campaigns to warn of the dangers of driving while fatigued. The best way to manage fatigue is having enough sleep. One useful practice for fatigued drivers is to pull over and have a nap.
The signs of fatigue should be known by all of us: constant yawning, blurred vision, slowed reaction, poor concentration, impatience, forgetting the last few kilometres of the trip, and several others.
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