Fatigue is a common, almost every day experience that can affect people's capacity to perform at their best. It can have adverse effects in many settings and is of particular concern where safety is likely to be compromised such as in high risk occupations or activities. For example, current estimates suggest that fatigue is the major contributor to at least 20 per cent of road traffic crashes, especially more serious ones. Despite this, the tools available to overcome the problem of driver fatigue are very limited. Unlike problems like alcohol and drug use, it has not been possible to detect when transport operators are at risk for fatigue. In many countries the problem is just put into the 'too hard basket' and, as a consequence, there has been little attempt to improve countermeasures to reduce the problem. Traditionally, solutions to fatigue in transportation rely on public education and guidance to take regular rest breaks and, in occupational settings, on hours of service regulations. In recent years our understanding of fatigue and its effects has improved, producing more opportunities for creative approaches to managing fatigue during transport and work operations. This talk will review the evidence on the relationship between fatigue and performance, especially focussing on definitional issues, the role of the different causes of fatigue: sleep, time of day and task-related factors, and how fatigue affects performance. Finally it will look at some of the innovative approaches to avoiding the problem of fatigue and at the evidence for their success in the long term.
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