Feature
Preventing serious crashes arising from driver distraction and fatigue
Authors
Brendan Marsh (Australia) Member of the World Road Association TC 3.2 Design and Operation of Safer Road Infrastructure
Pierre Anelli (France) Member of the World Road Association TC 3.2 Design and Operation of Safer Road Infrastructure
Uroš Brumec (Slovenia) Member of the World Road Association TC 3.2 Design and Operation of Safer Road Infrastructure
Lise Fournier (Canada-Québec) Member of the World Road Association TC 3.2 Design and Operation of Safer Road Infrastructure
Keith Cota (United-States) Member of the World Road Association TC 3.2 Design and Operation of Safer Road Infrastructure
Bernhard Lautner (Austria) Member of the World Road Association TC 3.2 Design and Operation of Safer Road Infrastructure
Asignificant percentage of serious crashes are attributed to driver distraction and fatigue, and the issue is growing such as with the emergence of increasingly complex driving aids and technologies. The Safe Systems road safety paradigm [Marsh] requires alternatives to be considered across all pillars of the Safe System (Road Safety Management, Safer Roads and Mobility, Safer Vehicles, Safer Road Users and Post-Crash Response). Much research has been undertaken in the countermeasures to driver distraction and fatigue relevant to the Safer Road Users pillar. Workgroup 3 of TC 3.2 has been tasked with investigating driver distraction and fatigue with the emphasis being on the road engineering response. This article summarises the key insights so far.