In the wake of recent research showing driver distraction to be increasingly involved in truck safety incidents, technical countermeasures are emerging as a potential solution.
The National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) has been monitoring the evolution of technologies that oversee truck drivers for signs of fatigue and distraction.
The work has involved research and trials, and official guidelines have been released to support the rapid uptake of these emerging technologies.
The move can’t come quick enough as riders continue to be struck by trucks in full view of everybody but the truck driver, who far too often continues the journey, claiming to be unaware that a collision took place.
Fatigue and distraction detection technology (FDDT), which mostly uses in-vehicle cameras to analyse video footage of the driver, can detect the signs of fatigue (eye closures) or distraction (looking away from the road).
There are other emerging classes of FDDT including wearables (glasses, hats) and performance monitoring options (technology that detects vehicle movements such as lane deviation).
The NHVR reports that transport companies are planning to use the technology for production of real-time in-cab alerts to drivers who show signs of fatigue or distraction to save lives and avoid incidents.
The alerts are usually auditory and fatigue alerts are generally accompanied by seat vibrations designed to wake the driver if they have fallen asleep.
In addition to preventing fatigue and distraction-related crashes in the short term, stakeholders, including drivers, have reported that a significant additional benefit of FDDT is that it can teach drivers and companies how to better control fatigue and distraction-related risk, including the review of driver routes and schedules.
It will not be a simple matter for the technologies to be rolled out and integrated into the practices of the heavy vehicle sector, so the NHVR has initiated a number of programs to reduce the friction of the transition.
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