Anyone who has driven back home to the Wimmera and Grampians regions from Melbourne (298kms), particularly after a busy weekend, knows all too well how fatigue can set in.

Driving along the Western Highway, or any country road, for a lengthy period can be a challenge at any time of day, but even more so if the driver has not had enough sleep.

A list of pre-arranged engagements has meant I have spent about every weekend for the past six weeks clocking up thousands of kilometres.

It is tiring, it is laborious, and at times, boring.

Research shows drivers are four times more likely to crash if they have had less than five hours’ sleep. Tired drivers contribute to about 20 percent of fatal crashes on Victorian roads each year.

Crashes caused by fatigue accounts for about 25 percent of road trauma injuries at The Alfred and Royal Melbourne hospitals.

It does not seem difficult to prevent fatigue – it is simple to pull over and have a nap. 

Let us not only care about our own safety and those of loved ones, but the impact that driving while fatigued can have on all the other road users.