Coca-Cola: Music, as it should be

To the Advertising Standards Bureau,

I am alarmed by the Coca-Cola advertisement on TV which states that "your favourite song should be played so loud, neighbours you didn't even know you had ask you to turn it down". This is followed by neighbours turning on their lights in response to being disturbed late at night, concluding with the notion "that's music, the way it should be". It is a grave concern that people are being encouraged to behave this way. I believe the ad should be removed because it is a portrayal of assault, likely to be emulated by many people, and thereby harming community health, and in particular, torturing those less-tolerant of noise. It is probably portraying an unlawful act. It shows no sense of obligation to society, and is likely to encourage other forms of anti-social behaviour. It is irresponsible use of noise, which is becoming a trend in advertising. It should be stopped.

The ad encourages a number of stereotypical rebellious rock-n-roll behaviours, spoken in an a relentless monotone of angry defiance, such as: music should make you want to drop out of school and learn guitar, there should be blood on the frets, your parents should disapprove, you should spend all your money on concert tickets, etc.

Portrayal of Assault

Noise hits the nervous system with atoms as real as those in a baseball bat striking the head. It causes pain, adrenal shock and possible injury. When prolonged, it becomes torture. It is violence. Noise is used as torture in war time. The neighbours' lights turning on is a depiction of injury, someone has been hurt. The ad is condoning noise violence against one's neighbour. It is never acceptable for adults to knowingly encourage gratuitous assault, and certainly not justifiable to sell soft-drink. It is akin to throwing chairs out of a building without looking below - it is reckless firing of noise into surrounding homes without regard to whom it hurts. It is theft of energy, concentration, time, rest, relaxation, socialisation, mood, and countless other qualities of life. It is trespass into private property. It is invasion of personal space. It is a crime.

Likely to be Emulated

The ad is not humourous, satirical or ridiculous, but rather is spoken with an angry attitude of defiance, authority and realism - suggesting this should be normal and reaalistic behaviour. Hence it is likely to be emulated by many people, particularly the young.

Harmful to Community Health

The World Health Organisation, the New South Wales Health Department, and the Australian enHealth Council (a subcommittee of the National Public Health Partnership) all acknowledge that community noise is harmful to health - see references below for detailed effects of noise on health.

By the World Health Organisation's definition of health (as well-being), simply being annoyed by noise is a negative health factor by itself.

Noise and vibrations cause a startle/shock response which cascades into a host of harmful physiological stress reactions. It increases heart rate, raises blood pressure, causes vasoconstriction, and triggers glandular and gastrointestinal changes. After prolonged exposure, susceptible individuals may develop permanent cardiovascular problems such as high blood pressure and ischaemic heart disease.

It contributes to mental/emotional problems such as depression and anxiety, as well as increased use of sedative drugs. It causes sleep deprivation.? Socially it causes aggression, unfriendliness, disengagement and non-participation. Physically it causes headache, nausea, irritability, fatigue, loss of appetite, reduced sex drive and more.

Prolonged noise magnifies these into serious health concerns. The ad is a health hazard, no doubt already causing pain to many people. There is also no concern for the damage loud music can do to young ears.

Torturing those Less-Tolerant of Noise

The ad is completely insensitive to sections of the community who have reduced tolerance for noise, for example, the elderly, those weakened with health problems, the mentally ill, a young mother trying to calm a baby, a war veteran with post traumatic stress disorder for whom thumping bass vibrations trigger shock reactions as real as war-time bombs, those suffering from hyperacusis (increased sensitivity to noise), those with sleep-disorders, or those simply experiencing stress from some life event. The ad is causing great pain to the lives of many people. It is discriminatory. It sends the message your neighbours are weak, powerless, defenceless - let's harass them, let's persecute them.

Encourages Anti-Social Behaviour

The ad conveys no sense of obligation to your fellow citizen, and this can only encourage other forms of anti-social behaviour. It has been suggested that when people break one law with impunity, it will lead to other laws being broken. This "broken window" theory was demonstrated in New York, showing that if minor indiscretions go unchecked, they escalate into greater disorder. Abuse with noise is likely to encourage other forms of abuse. If the noise is not settled, for example, it often escalates into neighbourhood conflict, with threats, assaults and even cases of murder - all starting from noise.

Acoustic Arson

The effect of this ad will compound throughout the community, because once one neighbour pollutes with noise, other neighbours often turn up their own noise, either to copy or drown out the instigator. In effect, noise spreads like wildfire. Each time one of these inciting ads is aired, pockets of noise "fires" break out all over the community and, unless suppressed by responsible people, spread into a cacophony of noisy neighbourhoods. Great pain, threats, persecution and assaults are experienced by responsible citizens trying to police such escalations. It is acoustic arson. The advertisers light fires and walk away with impunity. If these ads continue, it will become normal for the community to be continually ablaze with noise and disorder.

Portrayal of Unlawful Act

The ad almost certainly portrays an unlawful act. Home owners have a legal right to peaceful enjoyment of their property, particularly late at night, when this ad is depicted. The ad irresponsibly sends the message that either such behaviour is legal, or that breaking the law is acceptable behaviour.

No Obligation to Society Shown

Ads should be prepared with a sense of obligation to society. This ad has none. In fact, it suggests your satisfaction is best achieved when you have destroyed someone else's peace. How much more offensive or sadistic can you be? It suggests annoying one's neighbours is a legitimate sport. I am sure the advertisers will protest with likely excuses such as "it's harmless fun", "noise never hurt anyone", "if the music is too loud, you are too old" - all these excuses are disrespectful and contemptuous of a large part of the community.

Irresponsible Use of Noise

Some people acknowledge that responsible use of loud music or parties is to considerately inform neighbours of your intentions weeks or months ahead of the event. In such cases, neighbours who are likely to be disturbed are more able to make arrangements such as going out for the night. The fact that the ad shows neighbours complaining suggests either they were not forewarned, or the music was so loud as to be unreasonable, or the music was late at night, or this was not a one-off event but everyday harassment. On all accounts, that is irresponsible use of noise. We have responsible consumption of alcohol, responsible use of motors cars, responsible ownership of weapons - where is the responsible use of noise?

Alarming Trend in Advertising

This is the second outrageously obnoxious ad by Coca-Cola demonstrating reckless harassment with noise. The previous ad showed a gigantic sound system blasting forth music from a beach-home in Byron Bay all the way out to reach surfers in the water. With high powered sound systems available today, this is a realistic scenario.

From memory, I also recall an ad which showed young people assaulting tai-chi practitioners in a park by abusing them with a loudhailer, possibly in the pursuit of "cheap thrills" to sell jeans. This trend will only continue and escalate if left unchecked. Power fills a vacuum. The only way for evil to flourish is for good people to do nothing. You have the power to encourage this trend, or to restore civility.

Time for Responsible Use of Noise

The now widespread use of high powered sound systems in cars, homes and shopping centres highlights the need to take action on this problem now. Our time is in need of demonstrated responsible use of noise. Neighbourhoods are already disturbed by cars prowling around with thumping bass vibrations. Shopping centres are gauntlets of noisy shops. Homes are already disturbed by their neighbours' stereos and surround-sound systems. It is clearly offensive to encourage abuse of this technology. It is time for responsible use of noise in advertising.

Damage Already Done

An entire sub-culture of noisy people now, for the rest of their lives, will be strengthened with the belief that their anti-social behaviour is supported by many like-minded people. This damage cannot be undone. It is a shot in their arm that they will draw strength from for the rest of their lives. Coca-Cola and the advertisers are to blame for this step into disorder. Shame on them.

Society, the Way it Should Be

Your neighbours should be respected so much, that their concern for noise, is your concern. That's society, the way it should be.

Multiple Reasons to Remove this Advertisement

This ad should be removed for multiple reasons - portrayal of assault, harming health, torturing sections of the community, inciting anti-social behaviour, shirking its obligation to society, and showing an unlawful act.

I ask that you please remove the ad, for the sake of those suffering because of it.

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ADVERSE EFFECTS OF NOISE ON HEALTH
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The following extracts were taken from various published papers on the subject of noise and health.

WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION

The World Health Organisation's constitution defines health as:

"A state of complete physical and mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity." (Berglund, 2000)

It also defines community noise as noise emitted from all sources, except noise in the industrial workplace:

"Community noise includes the primary sources of road, rail and air traffic, industries, construction and public works and the neighbourhood" (WHO, 1999)


RFS JOB, DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY

"Community reaction (responses to noise) is of importance for two reasons. First, it is of importance as a factor of human quality of life, in its own right. People who have their daily activities (conversation, listening to music, watching television, reading, sleeping) disturbed, and who are dissatisfied and annoyed clearly have reduced quality of life. Within the World Health Organisation's definition of health (as well-being, not just the absence of disease) community reaction to noise is itself a negative health factor. Second, community reaction may be a factor in other aspects of health. It is possible that high levels of reaction to noise contribute to other putative effects of noise such as elevated blood pressure and mental health problems such as anxiety and depression.

The possibility exists that noise exposure and community reaction cause or exacerbate other health problems."


THE HEALTH EFFECTS OF ENVIRONMENTAL NOISE - OTHER THAN HEARING LOSS
(report for the enHealth Council by the New South Wales Health Department)
Commonwealth of Australia, 2004
http://enhealth.nphp.gov.au/council/pubs/pubs.htm

Executive Summary

Environmental noise is increasingly becoming a community concern both internationally and in Australia ... There is now sufficient evidence internationally that community noise may pose a general public health risk. Groups most exposed to this noise (by virtue of where they live, work and recreate) and those most sensitive to its impact, may face even greater risks. They include infants and school children, shift workers, the elderly, the blind, and those suffering hearing impairments, sleep disorders, and physical and mental health conditions. Australian surveys have found respondents were concerned about environmental noise from a wide range of transportation and other sources, as well as noise generated by neighbours' loud voices, loud appliances and pets.

Recommendation - Recognise Environmental Noise as a Potential Health Concern

The World Health Organisation, European Community members and numerous other countries have determined there is 'sufficient evidence' linking noise with annoyance, school children's performance, sleep disturbance, ischaemic heart disease and hypertension. Currently, there appears sufficient information to merit public health action in Australia to reduce these effects. Cardiovascular health and mental health (two national health priority areas for Australia) have been weakly linked to noise exposure.

... it is possible that some vulnerable groups, who are exposed to noise over which they have no control, may be vulnerable to mental health problems. What is more certain is that those with existing mental health problems, usually either depression or anxiety, are more prone to be annoyed and disturbed by environmental noise exposure than the general population.

There is growing evidence that chronic exposure to environmental noise leads to both impaired cognitive function (reading, motivation) and health (annoyance, blood pressure) in children. Impairment of early childhood development and education by environmental pollutants such as noise may have life-long effects on achieving academic potential and good health.

Sound, Noise and Human Response

Hearing has evolved from our need to alert, to warn and to communicate.? As a result, sound, wanted or unwanted, directly evokes reflexes, emotions and actions, which can be a stimulant and a stressor. The extent to which noise can act as a stimulant and stressor is related to the noise source, onset of noise, duration and characteristics of the sound and whether noise exposure is voluntary or involuntary.

Our response to noise is linked to the sound characteristics. Physiologically, we may reflexively orient to and away from a sound, startle or demonstrate a defensive response depending on the nature of the sound and our rapid ability to localise and interpret the sound and attribute meaning to it.

Noise stimulates the brain's reticular activating system. Neural impulses spread from the reticular system to the higher cortex and throughout the central nervous system. Noise can, therefore, influence perceptual, motor and cognitive behaviour, and also trigger glandular, cardiovascular, and gastrointestinal changes by means of the autonomic nervous system.

Adverse Health Effects of Noise

Children, people with existing physical and mental illness, and the elderly are most susceptible to noise.

- Annoyance and Quality of Life

The most widespread subjective response to noise is annoyance, which may include fear and mild anger, relating to the belief that one is being avoidably harmed ... Noise is also seen as intrusive into personal privacy, which may be particularly important in urban settings ... Annoyance is the general term used to describe individuals' responses evoked by a loud noise. It is also related to the effects of noise in disrupting conversation, activities requiring attention, rest and relaxation activities ... Approximately nine percent of residents surveyed who were seriously annoyed by the noise also indicated they had become aggressive due to the extent and nature of noise impacts ... Noise annoyance is clearly a reflection of impaired quality of life.

- Sleep Disturbance

Noise interferes with sleep in a number of ways: awakening; altered sleep pattern; reduce the percentage and total time in REM sleep; increase body movement; change cardiovascular responses; cause effects on slow wave sleep ... These changes can affect mood and performance the next day.

Sleep loss reduces cognitive function and can affect physiology, behaviour and subjective outcomes. Statistically significant reductions occur in vigilance, memory, learning and speech and increases in divergent thinking with varying amounts of sleep loss as well as with different 'forms' of sleep loss, such as acute total sleep loss and cumulative partial sleep loss.

Noise affects people's ability to gain the appropriate amount and type of sleep needed for maintenance of good health and there are suggestions of disturbed sleep leading to more serious health problems.

- Performance and Learning - School Children

There is sufficient evidence supporting a conclusion that chronic noise exposure at schools affects child health and performance. The importance of those impairments of early childhood development have been recognised by the United States Federal Interagency Commission on Noise; the World Health Organisation and the European Commission.

- Cardiovascular Disease

The relationship between annoyance to noise and increased relative risks of ischaemic heart disease (IHD) merit further attention given the increasing levels of community concern and annoyance and the significant prevalence of cardiovascular conditions within the Australian adult population.

Noise, acting as a stressor, is thought to have an impact on the cardiovascular system through certain stress response mechanisms such as the release of cortisol, adrenalin and noradrenalin which have cascade effects including raising blood pressure and increasing vasoconstriction ... a cross-sectional study found as association between noise, annoyance and cardiovascular disease.

Given the seriousness and the costs to society of cardiovascular disease through early deaths, disability, days lost to work, health care costs and deterioration in quality of life, small changes in risk, such as provided by environmental noise, might have significant population health effects and societal costs.

- Mental Health

Mental health is one of seven national health priority areas designated by the Australian Government and the State governments. Mental health relates to emotions, thoughts and behaviours ... even minor mental health problems may affect everyday activities to the extent that individuals cannot function as they would wish, or are expected to, within their family and community.

Sensitivity to noise and annoyance from noise is possibly related to certain types of mental disorders such as depression ... It has been suggested noise can be a source of stress of a psychological, behavioural or somatic nature ... Noise exposure predicts annoyance, psychological symptoms and impaired quality of life in both adults and children ... certain people, such as those already stressed, are more sensitive to noise than other, less stressed, people.

Noise and Neuro-Physiological Stress - Main Effect

... sudden or impulsive noise bursts resulted in stress reaction changes that included changes in cardiovascular blood pressure and volume, breathing, pulse rate, gastrointestinal motility, endocrine gland secretions and neural activity changes in animals and people.

Certain neurological disorders result in a failure to filter out background noise, such that the sufferer experiences stimulus from even distant sound.

Noise Sources and Impacts in Australia - Neighbourhood Noise

Within the neighbourhood environment, in addition to road and air traffic, a number of noise sources are raised in surveys of community annoyance. These include a range of activities from the neighbour's barking dog, stereo or car alarm to local government garbage collection.

International Best Practice Noise Management - Residential Noise

Annoyance studies have found the loud voices of neighbours, their parties and stereo equipment, though not as highly ranked as transportation sources, are of universal concern ... there appears to be universal concern about increasing sound power levels of stereo systems, appliances and power tools.

Responding to Environmental Noise in Australia - Recommendations

Community concern over environmental noise is growing, particularly as a result of increasing urban density, significant shifts in inner city land use and growing residential use of rezoned industrial areas.

While environmental noise may have previously been largely viewed as an amenity issue and not associated with significant public health consequences, this report indicates that this is unlikely to be the case. Indeed, it would now appear prudent to view environmental noise as a growing public health problem, and one that deserves more attention than it currently receives.

Suggested actions:

- Promote awareness of the non-auditory impacts of environmental noise on health, in particular, the need for State and Territory and Australian Government agencies to include noise as an important environmental health issue for strategic and local planning.

- Adopt the WHO Guidelines for Community Noise.
- Develop a national environmental noise education program.
- Examine measures to reduce noise generated by consumer goods, including amending consumer protection legislation and policies.


WILLIAM H. STEWART (former U.S. Surgeon General)

"Calling noise a nuisance is like calling smog an inconvenience. Noise must be considered a hazard to the health of people everywhere."


ARLINE L. BRONZAFT PhD
Environmental Psychologist
Professor Emerita, Lehman College, City University of New York
Chair of Noise Pollution Committee,
New York City Council for the Environment
League for the Hard of Hearing, Rehabilitation Quarterly, Vol. 25, No. 1, 2000:-

Noise Not Just an Annoyance, but a Health Hazard.

"There are a number of investigative studies that indicate noise is not simply an annoyance but rather a hazard to one's physical and mental well-being. Despite the many stories appearing in the media and the data indicating that noise is harmful to health, too often people who complain about noise are told to cope with or adapt to the disturbing sound. When some respond they can't, they may be called peculiar or labeled as suffering from a psychological disorder. They are also told that their neighbours who are exposed to the same noises have learned to live with the noise. Such responses to noise complaints tend to lessen formal complaints to legal authorities, and, eventually, these people stop talking to others about the bothersome noises. This does not mean that they are no longer upset by the offensive sounds.

What happens to the individuals who are overwhelmed by invasive noises but have been told to stop complaining? Some adjust their sleeping schedules so that they won't have their sleep disturbed by their noisy neighbours. Others find that they are constantly thinking about the noise and it assumes a dominant place in their lives at the expense of other activities in which they were once interested and involved. Many people, after failing to correct the noise problem, believe that they can't do anything to stop the noise. Such people often assume a posture of learned helplessness and behave as if they have adapted to the noise.

However, if you were to tap into their inner feelings, they will express a hatred of the noise and a disgust for themselves for allowing the noise to win out. All of these people have one thing in common - they have lost control over their lives."

WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION: ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION OF THE HUMAN ENVIRONMENT: GUIDELINES FOR COMMUNITY NOISE, 1995-2000.
http://www.who.int/docstore/peh/noise/guidelines2.html

Adverse Health Effects of Noise

... this document is related to the adverse effects of sound (noise). According to the International Programme on Chemical Safety (WHO 1994), an adverse effect of noise is defined as a change in the morphology and physiology of an organism that results in impairment of functional capacity, or an impairment of capacity to compensate for additional stress, or increases the susceptibility of an organism to the harmful effects of other environmental influences. This definition includes any temporary or long-term lowering of the physical, psychological or social functioning of humans or human organs. The health significance of noise pollution is given in this chapter under separate headings, according to the specific effects: noise-induced hearing impairment; interference with speech communication; disturbance of rest and sleep; psychophysiological, mental health and performance effects; effects on residential behaviour and annoyance; as well as interference with intended activities.

Sleep Disturbance

Uninterrupted sleep is known to be a prerequisite for good physiological and mental functioning of healthy persons (Hobson 1989); sleep disturbance, on the other hand, is considered to be a major environmental noise effect. (See 7, 8, 9 & 10 of this document).

Exposure to night-time noise also induces secondary effects, or so-called after effects. These are effects that can be measured the day following the night-time exposure, while the individual is awake. The secondary effects include reduced perceived sleep quality; increased fatigue; depressed mood or well-being; and decreased performance (Ohrstrom 1993a; Passchier-Vermeer 1993; Carter 1996; Pearsons et al. 1995; Pearsons 1998).

Long-term effects on psychosocial well-being have also been related to noise exposure during the night. Noise annoyance during the night-time increased the total noise annoyance expressed by people in the following 24 hours. Various studies have also shown that people living in areas exposed to night-time noise have an increased use of sedatives or sleeping pills. Other frequently reported behavioural effects of night-time noise include closed bedroom windows and use of personal hearing protection. Sensitive groups include the elderly, shift workers, persons especially vulnerable to physical or mental disorders and other individuals with sleeping difficulties.

Cardiovascular and Physiological Effects

It has been postulated that noise acts as an environmental stressor. Acute noise exposures activate the autonomic and hormonal systems, leading to temporary changes such as increased blood pressure, increased heart rate and vasoconstriction. After prolonged exposure, susceptible individuals in the general population may develop permanent effects, such as hypertension and ischaemic heart disease associated with exposures to high sound pressure-levels. Sounds also evoke reflex responses, particularly when they are unfamiliar and have a sudden onset.

By far the greatest number of occupational and community noise studies have focused on the possibility that noise may be a risk factor for cardiovascular disease.

Mental Health Effects

Studies on the adverse effects of environmental noise on mental health cover a variety of symptoms, including anxiety, emotional stress, nervous complaints, nausea, headaches, instability, argumentativeness, sexual impotency, changes in mood, increase in social conflicts, as well as general psychiatric disorders such as neurosis, psychosis and hysteria.

Large-scale population studies have suggested associations between noise exposure and a variety of mental health indicators, such as single rating of well-being, standard psychological symptom profiles, the intake of psychotropic drugs, and consumption of tranquilisers and sleeping pills.

Effects of Noise on Residential Behaviour and Annoyance

Noise annoyance is a global phenomenon. A definition of annoyance is "a feeling of displeasure associated with any agent or condition, known or believed by an individual or group to adversely affect them". However, apart from "annoyance" people may feel a variety of negative emotions when exposed to community noise, and may report anger, disappointment, dissatisfaction, withdrawal, helplessness, depression, anxiety, distraction, agitation, or exhaustion (Job 1993). Thus although the term annoyance does not cover all the negative reactions, it is used for convenience in this document. Social and behavioural effects include changes in overt everyday behaviour patterns (e.g. closing windows, not using balconies, turning TV and radio to louder levels, writing petitions, complaining to authorities); adverse changes in social behaviour (e.g. aggression, unfriendliness, disengagement, non-participation); adverse changes in social indicators (e.g. residential mobility, hospital admissions, drug consumption, accident rates); and changes in mood (e.g. less happy, more depressed).

Although changes in social behaviour such as a reduction in helpfulness and increased aggressiveness are associated with noise exposure, noise exposure alone is not believed to be sufficient to produce aggression. However, in combination with provocation or pre-existing anger or hostility, it may trigger aggression. It has also been suspected that people are less willing to help, both during exposure and for a period after exposure.

The Effects of Combined Noise Sources

Many acoustical environments consist of sounds from more than one source. For these environments, health effects are associated with the total noise exposure, rather than with noise from a single source. The evidence on low-frequency noise is sufficiently strong to warrant immediate concern.

Noise Management

The Precautionary Approach. In all cases, noise should be reduced to the lowest level achievable in a particular situation.? WHERE THERE IS A REASONABLE POSSIBILITY THAT PUBLIC HEALTH WILL BE DAMAGED, ACTION SHOULD BE TAKEN TO PROTECT PUBLIC HEALTH WITHOUT AWAITING FULL SCIENTIFIC PROOF.

Noise Policy and Legislation

If governments implement only weak noise policies and regulations, they will not be able to prevent a continuous increase in noise pollution and associated adverse health effects. Failure to enforce strong regulations is ineffective in combating noise as well.

Unsustainable Trends in Noise Pollution Future Policy Planning

The expanding use of increasingly powerful sources of noise. The wider geographical dispersion of noise sources, together with greater individual mobility and spread of leisure activities. The increasing invasion of noise, particularly into the early morning, evenings and weekends.

Effects on Physical Health

Exposure to noise may result in a variety of biological responses.? Most of the information has been derived from short-term studies on animals and human subjects, but it has been postulated that, if provoked continuously, such responses would ultimately lead to the development of clinically recognisable physical or mental disease in human beings. Numerous clinical symptoms and signs have been attributed to noise exposure including nausea, headache, irritability, instability, argumentativeness, reduction in sexual drive, anxiety, nervousness, insomnia, abnormal somnolence, and loss of appetite (Jirkova & Kromarova, 1965).

Mental Health Effects

The evidence points to possible negative effects of community noise on mental health, manifested in the presence of medical drug use, psychiatric symptoms and mental hospital admission rates.


LUTHER L. TERRY, M.D. (Former U.S. Surgeon General).

Health and Noise

"Recent research has also indicated that excessive noise exposure during pregnancy can influence early embryo development. A very careful set of studies done at Research Triangle Park, N.C., attributed this fact to a negative influence to coming generations. There are correlations also, which still are not well understood, between more noisy environments and mental disorders.

Second, one most important human need is for a desirable quality of life. And, third, "home" should be a place for rest and quiet after the labour and cares of each day. Community noise deprives most people of access to such a retreat. This is an unfortunate and unnecessary by-product of our industrialized society which may in fact be taking an unrecognised toll on human physical and mental health."


EFFECTS OF INTERRUPTED SLEEP ON ROAD SAFETY
AUSTRALIAN TRANSPORT SAFETY BUREAU

Fatigue - The Hidden Killer

"Driver fatigue, or tiredness, contributes to many hundreds of deaths and injuries on our roads every year. It has a role in up to 30 per cent of fatal crashes and up to 15 percent of serious injuries needing to go to hospital.??

Driver fatigue can be just as deadly as drink driving or excessive speeding.

Fatigue is not just a problem for people taking long trips. Any driver can suffer from fatigue, even on short trips."