Truck driver distraction and inattention is emerging as a worrying trend across Australia with a 164% increase in incidents since 2019.
Inattention/distraction incidents were the largest incident category for heavy vehicles last year, accounting for one-fifth (19.5%) of all incidents compared to 13.4% in 2022.
The information comes from the 2024 National Truck Accident Research Centre (NTARC) Major Incident Report, a periodic survey that provides industry and policymakers with a snapshot of the truck insurer’s claims data.
The report is used as an annual benchmark for how the transport sector is tracking in road safety, what factors remain constant, and issues that are emerging.
Worth noting is that only incidents with insurance claims over $50,000 are recorded, meaning that most crashes involving bike riders and pedestrians in urban areas would not be showing up.
The overall incident rate last year had increased by 27% since 2022, marking a concerning trend that has been accelerating since 2020.
Crashes related to human factors show a 42% increase since 2022.
Inattention/Distraction incidents were the most prevalent cause in 2023, with incidents doubling the rate of any other cause and increasing by 75% since 2022.
Over five years, incidents due to inappropriate speed increased by 41%. In 2023, 89% of these incidents involved a single vehicle, with 85% resulting in vehicles going off the path on curves.
Inadequate following distance incidents have increased by 73.5% over five years. These incidents mainly resulted in collisions with the rear of third-party vehicles, occurring predominantly in major cities and involving heavy vehicles and cars travelling in the same direction.
In major urban areas most of the distraction/inattention incidents involve rigid trucks and buses, while in regional areas articulated trucks are more likely to be involved. One third of bus/coach incidents involved distraction/inattention.
The report says addressing crashes resulting from drivers losing focus on the task is a challenge, involving balancing operational demands, which have seen a proliferation of in-cab technology, with the need to reduce cognitive workload. The risk of inattention, that comes with extended periods of long-distance driving, increases this challenge.
Among the causes identified with distraction and inattention include self-regulation, social attitude, and cultural background.
"Self-regulation and social attitudes are factors that can be managed through education,” the report says. "This involves improving driver understanding of the importance of attention towards the primary task of driving instead of allowing attention to be diverted to secondary tasks."
"Secondary tasks include mobile phone and wearables use, consuming food or drink, talking with passengers, and looking at infotainment systems or roadside advertising.”
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