The Eastern Bay Road Safety team carried out two very successful Fatigue Stops on New Year’s Day 2025 and are keen to repeat these going forward.
The stops in both Ōpōtiki and Matatā were overseen by Matatā Blue Light, Ōpōtiki Lions, Ōpōtiki and Matatā Fire Brigades, Eastern Bay Road Safety Programme and supported by Polic. They both targeted drivers returning home after the Rhythm and Vines Festival in Gisborne.
Over 1000 people called into the Fatigue Stops at each site, taking a well deserved break on their journeys home.
Fatigue stops are a chance for the Eastern Bay Road Safety Committee to directly engage with motorists to prevent fatigue-related crashes and promote road safety in our region.
People often think driver fatigue means falling asleep at the wheel. Falling asleep, however, is an extreme form of fatigue.
Fatigue is tiredness, weariness or exhaustion. You can be fatigued enough for it to impair your driving long before you nod off at the wheel. For example, when you are fatigued:
- Your reactions are slower
- Your ability to concentrate is reduced
- It takes longer to interpret and understand the traffic situation.
The most common effects of fatigue on driving are:
- Difficulty keeping your car within a lane
- Drifting off the road
- More frequent and unnecessary changes in speed
- Not reacting in time to avoid a dangerous situation.
These effects lead to a high number of single-vehicle crashes involving a car striking a tree or other rigid objects, and severe head-on collisions.
Driver fatigue is difficult to identify or recognise as contributing to a crash. It needs to be taken very seriously.