Drivers could one day be subjected to roadside drowsiness and fatigue tests

Sleepy drivers may one day be subjected to road side testing, similar to drink driving and drug tests.

Fatigue is considered one of the major risk factors when it comes to road safety.

Lead researcher Mark Howard from Austin Health tells 3AW’s Ross and John that testing tired drivers is a possibility using special smart glasses technology.

‘Unlike alcohol and speed, where we know that testing really dramatically reduce crashes, people probably remember when we had 1000 crashes a year, that testing has reduced it to 300 or so.

‘We’ve never had a test for drowsiness and fatigue to do the same thing,’ Dr Howard tells 3AW Breakfast.

Dr Howard says 20% of crashes are caused by fatigue and drowsiness, ‘What we want to do is change people’s behaviour.’

Click PLAY below to hear more