Asleep at the wheel

According to the National Road Safety Partnership Program, a Central Queensland University study has uncovered a dangerous pattern in the driving habits of tired mine workers.

The study has found that workers returning from the mines to central Queensland cities are more than five times likely to drift into oncoming traffic. Among the key contributing factors were working night shift, travelling long distances and not having slept enough over a number of days.

The nature of the roads is also to blame, as most are single lane and very narrow roads in Central Queensland. The study’s author, Professor Lee Di Milia, suggests that driving while tired or any distance longer than 150 km are the two main culprits. Given that the average DIDO worker travels 210 km per commute, it places many drivers in a precarious position, but tired motorists are also at risk in shorter journeys as well.

According to Professor Di Milia, there is no way to stop people from driving while tired, but that government campaigns to encourage drivers to take regular rest breakers are helping.

Image credit: ©iStockphoto.com/Alexander_Chernyakov