Charlotte Haye 6th September 2017

Detecting And Preventing Driver Tiredness

Driver tiredness is one of the most lethal things on the road. Studies have shown that almost 20% of major road accidents are caused by driver tiredness, that sleep-related accidents are more likely to result in serious injury than any other, and 40% of sleep-related accidents involve commercial vehicles of some kind. Which isn’t all that surprising, given that the drivers of commercial vehicles and HGV’s are professional drivers. When all you do is stare at a road for hours and then undertake manual labour, it’s easy to get tired. So how can we detect and prevent driver tiredness in professional HGV drivers and ensure the safety of our roads?

New In-Cab Cameras

So cameras are already a pretty standard part of HGV drivers’ life, so it makes sense to utilise this technology further. Hong Kong based academic Professor Cheung Yiu-ming has created an app that utilises the top of the dashboard cameras to analyse a driver’s face and check for signs of tiredness. When the app detects that driver is getting tired, it sets off an alarm, which can only be turned off manually by the driver. The AI within this app is very refined and looks for signs such as drooping eyelids, slumping shoulders and yawning mouths in order to analyse tiredness. If it detects these signs and issues an alarm, it is up to the driver to decide the most appropriate course of action, whether that’s pulling over for the night or finding some coffee and cold water to splash on their face until the next stop.

The main difference between this and other dashcam style monitoring is that this is automated and preventative. So instead of employers analysing footage after shifts and making changes, the app analyses and acts in real time, preventing possible accidents. While Dashcams are not a legal requirement, they are widely used within the haulage industry and this new app technology is likely to make them more popular than ever.

What Does This Mean?

At the moment, dashcams in haulage are mainly aimed at the road, with the idea of recording the journey in case of an accident. The footage from these cameras is very rarely viewed, usually only being opened at all in case of a serious accident. Many HGVs now have cameras installed on their rear and sides as well, in order to help drivers assess blame or reason in case of an accident. The idea of pointing a camera in the other direction – at the driver – is interesting. On the one hand, the footage will likely be very dull and uneventful for whoever has to analyse it, but it could be invaluable in analysing behaviour patterns and providing data that could change the HGV industry. Having an inward facing camera means that if there is an accident, haulage companies and the police can view the footage and see whether the driver was distracted by a phone, radio or anything else.

Detecting and taking action to prevent driver tiredness is one of the bigger issues of the haulage industry and this app could well be the next solution. While it might seem like an invasion of the driver’s privacy (and we do expect resistance from drivers on this front), it could also be the thing that saves your life. And really, it’s not much different to having a supervisor over your shoulder.

At Easy As HGV, we pride ourselves on providing the highest standard of training and knowledge to all of our aspiring HGV drivers. This includes understanding the risks of driver tiredness, how they can be proactive about preventing tiredness and what tools there are out there to help them. The app can be used on any smartphone and is likely to hit the stored very soon. For more information, or to find out how you can prevent driver tiredness, get in touch with us today.

Take the first step towards your dream HGV driving career. Contact Us

Call free 0800 970 8447

Get a Quote

Why choose Easy As HGV?

We're Local

Great Value

Speedy & Helpful

Trusted