A new UN regulation adopted this week by UNECE will help tackle this issue by introducing a Driver Drowsiness and Attention Warning (DDAW) system that will provide warnings if the driver is identified as drowsy. /
Fatigue: a significant cause of road crashes
Fatigue negatively affects a driver’s physical, cognitive, psychomotor and sensory processing capabilities, which can cause the driver to have difficulty maintaining a constant speed and lane position, slower reaction times, lapses in attention, altered decision-making, and to fall asleep.
The severity of fatigue related crashes is particularly high, as drivers that are drowsy or asleep are much less likely to react effectively to reduce the severity of an impending impact (e.g. braking, steering to avoid serious impact, etc.). Additionally, high speeds are a contributing factor in these crashes, as fatigue typically occurs in long distance drives at constant speed.
According to a European Commission report from 2023, driver fatigue is a contributing factor in 15 to 20% of road crashes, whereas on average 23% of European drivers reported fatigued driving.
In the United States, about 1 in 25 adult drivers report having fallen asleep while driving. Sleepiness is implicated in 21% of all motor vehicle crashes resulting in a death and 13% of motor vehicle crashes resulting in hospitalizations, totaling over 300,000 police-reported crashes, more than 100,000 injuries, and as many as 6,400 deaths each year. (....)