Driver Fatigue hits all drivers even in Bathurst 1000

Bathurst 1000 & Driver fatigue

October 31, 2018 David Brown News Comments Off on Driver Fatigue hits all drivers even in Bathurst 1000

Craig Lowndes image courtesy of supercars comBathurst 1000 & Driver fatigue

This years Bathurst 1000 was eventful for a number of reasons.
Craig Lowndes, in his last year of full-time racing, won Australia’s most famous supercar event for the seventh time, putting him just two race wins behind Peter Brock’s record.

But much of the post-race focus has been on last year’s winner – David Reynolds – who led for most of the race. However cramps, sleep deprivation and anxiety proved costly as he was overtaken by Lowndes with just 26 laps to go.

Questions are now being asked as to why the Erebus team kept Reynolds out on the race track for so long – possibly endangering other drivers in the race.

Before the race Fans were warned to take it easy on the roads citing driver fatigue as one of the big killers on NSW roads.

And on the subject of driver fatigue, the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) is investing in new field trials to test driver fatigue monitoring technologies, which can enhance heavy vehicle safety outcomes.

At the NHVR Fatigue Safety Forum recently held in Sydney, Deputy Prime Minister and Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development Minister Michael McCormack said the aim of the field trials is to stimulate new technologies with the potential to reduce road deaths and trauma, targeting driver fatigue management.

He said driver fatigue is a major killer on Australian roads and in the heavy vehicle industry, with current estimates showing that 8 to 20 per cent of all crashes are fatigue-related.

He said that a growing number of transport operators have been alerted to the use of new technologies to complement their existing processes for monitoring driver fatigue.

Peter BROCK 05

Dual Bathurst Winning Commodore Sells for Record Breaking $2.1 Million at Auction

Peter Brock’s 1982/1983 Bathurst-Winning HDT VH Commodore was the first car to win two Bathurst races in a row and has continued to break records 35 years later.

It recently sold for record breaking $2.1 Million at Auction

Craig Lowndes also auctioned off his race suit to raise money for the V8 Supercars Drought Relief Auction.

About David Brown 607 Articles
David’s boyhood passion for motor cars did not immediately lead to a professional role in the motor industry. A qualified Civil Engineer he specialised in traffic engineering and transport planning. What followed were various positions including being seconded to a government think-tank for the planning of transport firstly in Sydney and then for the whole of NSW. After working with the NRMA and as a consultant he moved to being an independent writer and commentator on the broader areas of transport and the more specific areas of the cars we drive. His half hour motoring program “Overdrive” has been described as an “informed, humorous and irreverent look at motoring and transport from Australia and overseas”. It is heard on 22 stations across Australia. He does weekly interviews with several ABC radio stations and is also heard on commercial radio in Sydney. David has written for metropolitan and regional newspapers and has presented regular segments on metropolitan and regional television stations. David is also a contributor for AnyAuto
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