Fatigued Driving in Urban Areas: The Role of Daily Activities

Fatigued driving was investigated using a telephone survey followed by small discussion groups using participants recruited from among survey participants based on their responses to fatigue-related items. The surveys and discussion groups were conducted in suburban areas of Sydney (in the outer west, the Hills district, and southern suburbs), Tamworth, and Newcastle. The results of both the surveys and the discussion groups suggested that day-to-day activities are an important factor in fatigued driving, and that fatigued drivers in urban areas continue to drive despite their awareness of both their fatigue and its potential consequences. The relevance of the results for countermeasure development are discussed.