Unlike alcohol and drugs, tiredness is something that can sneak up on even the best-intentioned drivers without them knowing it.
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It is also difficult for police to detect.
However driver fatigue is one of the top three killers on NSW roads, along with speeding and drink driving.
Crashes due to tiredness are twice as likely to be fatal than other crashes. You can’t brake while you’re asleep.
You might be a good driver, but your tired self isn’t. Do not trust them behind the wheel.
A spokesman for Transport for NSW’s Centre for Road Safety said research also showed tiredness is not only an issue for people taking long journeys or driving at night.
"Crashes related to tiredness are more likely at night when your body is used to being asleep, but many also occur at other times of the day including early morning and during the afternoon," she said.
"You have to consider how tired you are any time you drive, whether it is a short or a long trip, day or night.
"We need drivers to realise that you don’t have to be extremely tired and struggling to keep your eyes open to dangerously impair your driving ability. You can simply just be tired from a long day, a big night, after working a shift with strange hours, or tired from concentrating on the road while the kids yell in the back seat."
Planning ahead is the best way to deal with tiredness. The quiz featured above will help people assess how tired they might be and learn how to avoid driving tired.
It's a fun and simple test based on a series of questions, memory challenges and reaction responses to see how tired you might be before driving, but more importantly find out what to do before getting behind the wheel to avoid driving tired.
