Seeing Machines report reveals rise in driver distractions

A report released today by Seeing Machines highlights concerning trends in driver fatigue and distraction across Australia's commercial transport sector.

The 2023-24 Guardian Insights Report from Seeing Machines, a technology company based in Canberra, reveals over 3.6 million risky driving events recorded across Australia in the past year, covering almost 1.95 billion kilometres of travel.

The report highlights that more than 84,450 incidents were related to driver fatigue, and over 288,000 were instances of distracted driving, 24 per cent of which involved mobile device use.

Specifically, 69,453 instances of mobile phone use occurred while driving.

Data for the report was gathered using Seeing Machines' Guardian system, which employs naturalistic driving data to monitor and analyse risky driving behaviours.

Deidentified data collected from over 32,000 vehicles equipped with Guardian underpin the findings, focusing on the monitoring of eye, face, and head positions to detect signs of fatigue or distraction. This data analysis is bolstered by verification from human analysts at Seeing Machines' 24/7 Guardian Centre.

Max Verberne, General Manager – Aftermarket at Seeing Machines, stated, "Driver distraction and fatigue continue to contribute significantly to road fatalities and injuries in Australia and globally. The Guardian Insights Report offers detailed data on when and where these incidents occur, helping fleets address the challenges of diverse operating environments."

The Guardian system has reportedly demonstrated a significant impact on reducing fatigue-related driving events by over 90 per cent.

The latest iteration of the Guardian Insights Report is the second of its kind and now encompasses a global perspective, including data from New Zealand, the United Kingdom, North America, Latin America, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

Globally, the report captured 11,632,596 risky driving events, which included more than 450,000 instances of fatigue and over 2,679,000 distraction events, with 623,478 of these attributed to mobile device usage.

The data reflects an average of over 51 fatigue events per hour and more than five distracted driving events every minute.

Verberne further commented, "The report underscores Seeing Machines' commitment to achieving zero transport-related fatalities worldwide. We call on fleet managers, policymakers, and safety advocates to explore the findings and collaborate to enhance road safety."