Driving in shift workers: predicting and monitoring sleep-related impairment.

Drowsy driving is a leading cause of fatalities on Australian roads. Shift workers are at particular risk of drowsy driving. There is a demand for objective measures to determine when driver drowsiness reaches critical levels. Eye blinks are an indicator of drowsiness and driving impairment in laboratory studies, however are untested in real-world driving. This thesis used driver monitoring technology in an instrumented vehicle to measure eye blink parameters in shift working doctors and nurses on their commutes to and from work, during real-world driving. Eye blinks show promise for predicting driver drowsiness and for development into fitness-to-drive technology.