The National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) has released new guidelines to support industry uptake of emerging Fatigue and Distraction Detection Technologies (FDDT).
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The new guidelines provide a starting point on good practice options including usable templates, with key features of the FDDT Good Practice Material including:
- An overview of the safety benefits and types of technologies available
- Practical instructions on how to install, set-up and maintain FDDTs
- Information and fillable templates on how to meet your safety duties under the Heavy Vehicle National Law
- Fatigue and distraction event procedures and processes to reasonably respond to alerts.
It was prepared in partnership with Professor Drew Dawson, Andrew Higginson and Dr Maddy Sprajcer as part of the NVHR’s commissioned “Fatigue and Distraction Detection Technology (FDDT) – What Good Practice Looks Like” project.
NHVR CEO Sal Petroccitto says industry feedback was critical in the construction of the new guidelines.
“FDDT has been proven to play an influential role in reducing driver fatigue and distraction – and is a clear demonstration of how industry continues to innovate with safety technologies,” Petroccitto says.
“We know industry is supportive of FDDT but is also eager for greater guidance on how to effectively implement it and to better understand their regulatory responsibilities in managing FDDT alerts and data.
“The NHVR studies on FDDT continually show the importance of the positive relationship between the company and driver, and having an absolute authority to stop driving as key to improving safety.”
South Australian Road Transport Association executive director Steve Shearer says it is important for organisations, operators and regulators to continue sharing information on FDDT to create safer practices across the industry.
“There is little information available to industry on how to effectively use FDDT, which we know saves lives,” Shearer says.
“The benefit of the good practice guidance is it includes sample templates from transport companies using the technology, meaning they have been tested in the real world.
“We can continue to learn a lot about fatigue management from this technology as we get better at identifying and working with drivers to address the signs and cause of fatigue.”
Most FDDTs deliver an immediate alert to a driver when it senses potential fatigue or distraction by using in-vehicle cameras that analyse footage, with the aim of delivering better safety outcomes.
The FDDT Good Practice Guidance Material is available to download here. A guidance summary of the document is available here.
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