In Western Australia drivers perceive fatigue as less of a problem for themselves than in States which regulate driving and related working hours. There is also heightened awareness of fatigue as an industry problem in the regulated States. This suggests regulation of driving hours may not be effective in limiting fatigue. Limiting driving to 14 hours and to a lesser extent 72 hours per week, will have a significant impact on the activities of a large proportion of WA drivers, and regulation may be more difficult to accommodate in trip schedules in WA as compared to more densely populated states. Drivers report there are many causes of fatigue, and time spent in driving is only one cause.
Research shows there are other, possibly more significant, causes of fatigue.
Effective fatigue management will require attention to all causes of fatigue. There is a disparity between drivers' and companies' perceptions of the causes of, and countermeasures to, fatigue. Effective fatigue management will require agreement on the causes and countermeasures. There was virtually no support among drivers for the introduction of log books to regulate driving hours. However, there was support for a government lead in improving the driving environment and developing alternative fatigue management strategies.