Are new mums driving tired?

Abstract

During the first year of their child’s life, mothers typically experience disrupted sleep and high levels of daytime fatigue. Other populations who experience sleep disruption and/or fatigue are considered to be at risk for fatigued driving. However, the degree of fatigue-related risk experienced by new mothers in Australia is unclear. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of fatigued driving, fatigue-related near misses, and vehicle crashes in this population. A cross-sectional survey including the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and a range of fatigue and driving questions was completed by 187 Australian new mothers. Over 50% of participants who regularly drove did so while fatigued at least a few times per month. Furthermore, most participants who reported near misses indicated that either some or more than some of these incidents were attributable to fatigue (>70%). Similarly, >55% of participants who reported experiencing a motor vehicle crash since the birth of their child indicated that this crash was caused by fatigue. These findings suggest that new mothers may be considered an at-risk group for fatigued driving. To address this issue, it may be appropriate to provide education around driver safety, and to establish strategies to help minimise fatigue-related driving risk in this population. Furthermore, future research should include objectively measured sleep to establish the link more accurately between prior sleep and driver safety in new mothers in Australia.