P027 Fatigue related crash trends in Aotearoa/ New Zealand. Post

Abstract New Zealand’s overall motor vehicle accident (MVA) fatalities have been high in comparison to other similarly developed countries. The societal cost of fatigue related road crashes has been estimated at $363 million 2016 and $283 million in 2019 per annum (NZTA reports). The Auckland Accident Study (Connors et al, BMJ 2002) showed that 19% serious MVAs were fatigue related. Key risk factors were identified that have been incorporated into best clinical practice. Important research based initiatives were employed aiming to address this national tragedy including: widespread driver education; the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 where employers shared some responsibility for fatigue risk; fatigue risk management for safety critical industries; sleep disorders services aiming to diagnose at treat sleep disorders including obstructive sleep apnoea (Yee et al, NZMJ 2002); roading improvements & fatigue mitigating technology. Results The NZTA (Waka Ko Tahi) publish annual road cashes statistics. These data show: We will include 2024 data. Conclusion Fatigue related MVA trends are in the right direction and supports an on-going pro-active approach by the NZTA & NZ MoH focusing on key harm reduction strategies including driver education, fatigue risk management, sleep services, road design, fatigue mitigating technology, research & policy to reduce this further (Road to Zero initiative).