Plenary Session 

Impaired Driving – Fatigue, Drugs and Alcohol

If you think you can handle driving when you’re impaired, think again. Lack of sleep, drugs and alcohol can have a hazardous impact on your ability to operate a vehicle. 

The statistics are sobering, drink driving is a factor in 18-20% of all fatal accidents in NSW and it’s estimated that illegal drugs are present in around the same numbers. What might surprise you is fatigue accounts for more than 20-30% of all fatal crashes and severe injuries.  

A driver who has been awake for over 17-19 hours has the same driving ability as an individual with a blood-alcohol level of 0.05% and therefore double the risk of having an accident.  

The cost of road incidents in Australia is an estimated $27 billion per annum. Of this, fatigue related road incidents cost workers, families and the Australian economy $3 billion each year.  

Whether you’re using over the counter or prescription drugs, or simply fatigued, impairment increases your risk of being involved in a serious and potentially fatal road incident.  

During this session we’ll explore some of the statistics and then participate in a hands-on workshop where we’ll get to feel the effects of impairment derived from the use of prescription drugs, fatigue, alcohol and illegal drugs.  

With the assistance of Drunk Busters Goggles you will experience the real effects of impairment, including reduced alertness, slowed reaction time, confusion, visual distortion, alteration of depth and distance perception, reduction of peripheral vision, poor judgement and decision making, and lack of muscular coordination. 

For some people, impairment might result after as little as one drink or a restless night. Impairment can also result from combining alcohol with prescription medication. Use of illegal drugs is also impairing, with no BAC level even present. 

The Drunk Busters Goggles will allow you experience the BAC level from approximately .04 to a mind-numbing .35.  We will also tackle fatigue and drugs to simulate drugs such as cannabis, LSD, Ecstasy and ‘Molly’. 

This tactile experience is not to be missed!