Seeing Machines has released its latest Guardian Insights Report, revealing persistent fatigue and distraction risks across Australia’s commercial transport and logistics sectors. The Canberra-based company analysed naturalistic driving data from tens of thousands of vehicles fitted with its Guardian driver-monitoring technology, recording nearly half a million risky events nationwide over a 12-month period.
According to the report, more than 480,000 verified fatigue and distraction incidents were captured in Australia, including 102,026 fatigue-related events and 387,753 distraction events. Sixteen per cent of distraction cases were linked to mobile-device use.
The findings show consistent fatigue patterns year-on-year, with a recurring high-risk window at around 4:00am and Saturday remaining the most dangerous day for fatigue-related incidents. Distraction trends also mirrored previous years, dipping between 4:00am and 5:00am before peaking around mid-afternoon.
Dr Mike Lenné, Chief Safety Officer at Seeing Machines, said the stability of these patterns provides fleet operators with clear guidance on when risk is highest. He said targeted interventions during early-morning operations could significantly reduce incident likelihood.
The Australian data forms part of a broader global study covering Asia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, North America, Latin America and EMEA. Worldwide, more than three million verified events were recorded. Early-morning fatigue emerged as a universal risk factor, while mobile-device distraction has dropped across most regions.
However, the report notes that other forms of distraction are rising. This shift underscores the importance of Guardian’s new attention-sharing detection capability, which tracks subtle moment-by-moment shifts in driver focus that traditional systems may overlook. Seeing Machines says fleet operators will need broader distraction-management strategies as driver-attention patterns evolve.
Lenné said ongoing collaboration between industry, regulators and operators is essential to improving road safety. He emphasised that while not every risky event would have caused a crash, early detection and real-time intervention from Guardian technology plays a critical role in preventing incidents before they escalate.
Seeing Machines’ Guardian platform alerts drivers instantly when fatigue or distraction is detected and provides fleet managers with verified event data to support targeted follow-up, forming part of a wider push to reduce road-safety risks in heavy transport operations.
You can read the full report here.
