New Risk Management Study Findings Have Been Reported by Investigators at Queensland University of Technology (Sleep-related crash characteristics:…

New Risk Management Study Findings Have Been Reported by Investigators at Queensland University of Technology (Sleep-related crash characteristics: Implications for applying a fatigue definition to crash reports)

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Weekly News -- Investigators publish new report on Risk Management. According to news reporting originating from Kelvin Grove, Australia, by VerticalNews correspondents, research stated, "Sleep-related (SR) crashes are an endemic problem the world over. However, police officers report difficulties in identifying sleepiness as a crash contributing factor."

Our news editors obtained a quote from the research from the Queensland University of Technology, "One approach to improving the sensitivity of SR crash identification is by applying a proxy definition post hoc to crash reports. To identify the prominent characteristics of SR crashes and highlight the influence of proxy definitions, ten years of Queensland (Australia) police reports of crashes occurring in >= 100 km/h speed zones were analysed. In Queensland, two approaches are routinely taken to identifying SR crashes. First, attending police officers identify crash causal factors; one possible option is 'fatigue/fell asleep'. Second, a proxy definition is applied to all crash reports. Those meeting the definition are considered SR and added to the police-reported SR crashes. Of the 65,204 vehicle operators involved in crashes 3449 were police-reported as SR. Analyses of these data found that male drivers aged 16-24 years within the first two years of unsupervised driving were most likely to have a SR crash. Collision with a stationary object was more likely in SR than in not-SR crashes. Using the proxy definition 9739 (14.9%) crashes were classified as SR. Using the proxy definition removes the findings that SR crashes are more likely to involve males and be of high severity. Additionally, proxy defined SR crashes are no less likely at intersections than not-SR crashes. When interpreting crash data it is important to understand the implications of SR identification because strategies aimed at reducing the road toll are informed by such data. Without the correct interpretation, funding could be misdirected."

According to the news editors, the research concluded: "Improving sleepiness identification should be a priority in terms of both improvement to police and proxy reporting."

For more information on this research see: Sleep-related crash characteristics: Implications for applying a fatigue definition to crash reports. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 2017;99():440-444. Accident Analysis and Prevention can be contacted at: Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd, The Boulevard, Langford Lane, Kidlington, Oxford OX5 1GB, England. (Elsevier - www.elsevier.com; Accident Analysis and Prevention - www.journals.elsevier.com/accident-analysis-and-prevention/)

The news editors report that additional information may be obtained by contacting A.J. Filtness, Queensland University of Technology, CARRS Q, Kelvin Grove, Qld 4059, Australia. Additional authors for this research include K.A. Armstrong, A. Watson and S.S. Smith.

Keywords for this news article include: Kelvin Grove, Australia, Australia and New Zealand, Risk Management, Legal Issues, Queensland University of Technology.

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