Tired drivers are being urged to think twice before getting behind the wheel when feeling drowsy, with new research finding drivers travelling with just three hours of sleep are ten times more likely to crash.
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Driver fatigue is a known contributor to road trauma, with Transport Accident Commission data indicating it is a factor in up to 20 per cent of road crashes in Victoria.
The five-year average reveals fatigue is a factor in about 30 deaths and approximately 200 serious injuries each year.
An Australian-first trial involving pupil scanning technology to detect drowsy drivers and better understand the role fatigue plays in road trauma was recently completed in Victoria.
The trial saw participants being kept awake for up to 32 hours before a two-hour drive on a controlled track, supervised by a qualified instructor in a dual-controlled vehicle.
Each participant then took three further drive tests - after three hours and then five hours' sleep in a 24-hour period, and then again after eight hours' sleep.
Before and after each drive the individual was tested with a scanner to measure involuntary pupil movements. This has shown strong links to increased levels of sleep deprivation, meaning drivers are more distracted.
A range of behavioural, physiological and driver performance data such as brain electrical activity, lane deviations, speed variations and changes in reaction time also showed the effects of excessive fatigue on the drivers.
The trial is being supported by Road Safety Victoria and the TAC, with the results to be analysed to inform how the trial could be implemented in the real-world.
Monash University Associate Professor, Clare Anderson, said the trial demonstrated that it was possible to reliably detect excessively fatigued drivers in a roadside context.
There is potential that the technology could be implemented as a form of roadside testing as a way to identify and support drivers who are excessively fatigued.
Fatigue, or 'extreme tiredness', is the result of not getting enough rest during a period of time.
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According to the TAC, each individual requires between seven and eight hours of good sleep each night. Individuals that get less build up what is called "sleep debt".
When electing to get behind the wheel of a vehicle when fatigued, drivers not only have an impaired reaction time - increasing the risk of being involved in an accident - but also run the risk of falling asleep while driving.
Fatigue is not only an issue when driving long distances, but it is also a risk for shorter drives.
A study conducted by the Adelaide Centre for Sleep Research found that drivers awake for 17 hours would be impaired to the same level as an individual with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.05. After being awake for 21 hours, driving performance is equivalent to having a BAC of 0.15, with seven times the crash risk.
When travelling at a high speed, a crash is more likely to result in serious injury or death.
Falling asleep for just four seconds while travelling at a speed of 100km/h means the car will have travelled 111 metres without the control of a driver.
TAC Head of Road Safety, Samantha Cockfield, said drowsy driving was one of the biggest killers on the roads yet was "entirely preventable".
"We see too many people dying or suffering lifelong injuries because they kept driving without breaks, or got behind the wheel on minimal rest.
"Driving after just three hours' sleep makes you ten times more likely to be involved in an accident - it's more risky than being above the legal blood alcohol limit. We'll continue investing in preventing the trauma too many Victorian families face as a result of fatigued driving."
Head of Road Safety Victoria, Robyn Seymour, said gaining a better understanding of how fatigue impaired drivers and how to detect it meant we moved "closer to a world where no one is hurt or killed on our roads".
Minister for Roads and Road Safety, Ben Carroll, said Victoria had long led the way in road safety initiatives - from random breath testing and roadside drug testing and now to fatigue.
