Australian-based camera technology company Seeing Machines has released its 2023-24 Guardian Insights Report, which draws insights into the world’s road habits using its global network of driver fatigue and distraction cameras and de-identified data.
The cameras, named Guardian, are in-cab AI technology that spans a critical measurement of where a driver is looking and can classify their cognitive state as it applies to accident risk.
Information has been taken from over 60,000 vehicles across all major global regions, with almost 32,000 of those vehicles operating on Australian shores.
In Australia there were over 3.6 million detected fatigue and distraction events between October 2023 and September 2024, however the frequency of both considerably lessened as the year went on.
In October last year Guardian found there to be 0.728 fatigue events per 10,000 kilometres driven. By September 2024 that had fallen to 0.317 events.
Fatigue events soared to almost one per 10,000km driven between the hours 3am and 5am, while drivers were most distracted between 2pm and 5pm.
Australia’s September 2024 marker of 0.317 fatigue events per 10,000km was the world’s best for the final month of the data set, compared to Asia’s marker of 4.83 events. Europe, the Middle East and Africa recorded the worst monthly fatigue metric with 7.728 fatigue events per 10,000km in August 2024.
Distraction events per 10,000km, driven peaked in November 2023 at 1.861, but fell to a record low of 1.120.
From its global dataset, Guardian detected 11.6 million risky driving events across global fleets, including 450,000 fatigue events and over 2.7 million distracted driving events.
Mobile phone use has been attributed to almost a quarter of all distracted driving events.
Australia’s best month of distraction data – 1.120 events per 10,000km – also compares favourably with other regions around the world, however the United Kingdom’s 0.325 distraction events in September 2024 leads the way.
Latin America recorded 30.317 distraction events per 10,000km in June 2024.
Crunching the numbers finds Guardian captured over 51 fatigue events every hour and more than five distracted driving events every minute.
The data has also found notable trends, including that Latin America accounts for almost half of all distraction events globally, while the United Kingdom has the lowest rate of mobile phone distractions.
Seeing Machines has defined a ‘fatigue event’ as a microsleep, with a standard duration threshold of 1.5 seconds set for the detection of a microsleep. Key indicators of microsleeping include uncontrolled eye closure, eye rolls, long eye closures, head bobs, or instances where the driver has lost control of their neck muscles.
Examples of drowsiness include drivers’ eyes appearing heavy, eye closures are slower and/or more frequent, or the driver’s face or body are considerably relaxed.
Distraction events are confirmed as a long glance away, with a threshold of four seconds in order to strike a balance between safety and driver experience and target behaviour that is more likely non-driving related.
‘Other distraction’ is defined as an event where the driver is undertaking an activity where it is clear they do not have full control of the vehicle.
“Driver distraction and fatigue continue to contribute significantly to road fatalities and injuries worldwide,” Seeing Machines General Manager – Aftermarket Max Verberne says.
“This report not only highlights the scale of the issue but also provides actionable insights to help mitigate the risks relating to driver impairment, reducing road accidents and protecting lives.”
To view Seeing Machines’ full Guardian Insights Report 2023-24 and how Australian drivers stack up against the rest of the world, click here.
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