Driving fatigued is one of the primary preventable causes of accidents when on the road, especially in young drivers as they are without much experience, and are prone to risk-taking. Fatigue is believed to account for approximately 30% of road accidents according to the Australian Automobile Association. Young adults account for nearly 2/3 of all fatigue-related crashes, a University of Queensland study, has found that, despite having better reflexes and vision, the 17-24 aged drivers performed much worse in hazard perception, than a 28-36 aged group, when both exposed to the same level of fatigue, finding that the younger group would travel on average 6 m further before taking evasive action in a situation that would lead to a hit / near miss. Another study by the same group also found that younger drivers are far more likely to drive tired.
We have been tasked with creating a road safety campaign for young drivers to combat this issue, we will ensure it stays reliable by gathering our information from reliable sources. The end goal of this campaign would be to decrease the number of people driving tired on the road, especially in the younger age groups as they are most at risk when under conditions of fatigue. Fewer people driving tired would also result in a large decrease in road accidents as fatigue is one of the biggest causes. To achieve the desired effect we will need to provide information on the effects of fatigue on driving, which are reduced awareness, slower reaction time, and worse judgment as well as providing good alternatives to driving fatigued such as uber, or stopping for rest breaks, it is also important to remind that young drivers are more prone to taking risks and so should always stay on the safe side on their judgment. To appeal to young people we will target that age group specifically by providing age-relevant statistics and the relevant effects of tired driving, which show the consequences if you do not take measures (some of which we will provide) to not drive tired. We will also present this in a poster format as this allows for more information to be included in a smaller space, to catch the attention of viewers.
When doing this task I learned just how much larger the impact of fatigue is on young drivers, as originally I thought that the effect would not be much more pronounced on younger drivers as generally younger people are more aware, but due to the lack of experience fatigue is much more likely to cause accidents in young drivers. My advice to other young people who want to drive is to never take any unnecessary risks no matter the situation, as the consequences far outweigh any saving in time or money. When in a situation where you are feeling tired or have had some alcohol and have to drive you should never take the chance, even if you think you will be fine as many people die from fatigue on the road, none of which would drive if they didn’t think they could handle it, it is far better to call an uber or if on a long trip stop for breaks when feeling tired because the potential loss is immeasurable (death), which is not worth saving some time or money by stopping or getting an uber. When I start driving I will ensure to never drive when I am tired and if I am feeling fatigued and will instead opt to get a lift, I will also always ensure to allow for rest stops when going for long drives (3+ hours), I will be able to stick to this commitment by planning when going for trips late at night or for a long time to organise a lift or stops.