The Transport Accident Commission (TAC) and Road Safety Victoria have completed an Australian-first, revolutionary new technology trial to detect drowsy drivers.
Minister for Road Safety, Ben Carroll said the trial of pupil scanning technology had successfully detected excessively fatigued drivers and found drivers with only three hours sleep were 10 times more likely to be involved in a crash.
“In the Road Safety Victoria and TAC led trial, participants were kept awake for up to 32 hours before conducting a two-hour drive on a controlled track in Kilsyth while supervised by a qualified instructor in a dual controlled vehicle,” Mr Carroll said.
“Participants also undertook three additional drive tests – with three hours sleep and five hours sleep in a 24-hour period, and again when they were well-rested after eight hours sleep,” he said.
“Drivers were tested before and after their drive with the technology that measures involuntary movement of their pupils – which has shown strong links with increased levels of sleep deprivation.”
Mr Carroll said current figures showed fatigued drivers were involved in up to 20 per cent of crashes and 11 per cent of fatalities on Victorian roads.
The Minister said Road Safety Victoria and TAC worked closely with Monash University, Victoria Police and the Cooperative Research Consortium for Alertness on the trial.
