As National Road Safety Week puts the spotlight on road trauma across Australia from 17–24 May, AutoSense is warning that one of the biggest risks on the road may be the casual confidence many drivers take with them behind the wheel.
New telematics data from the Guardian driver monitoring platform, distributed by AutoSense and used across more than 31,000 vehicles, recorded more than 387,000 distracted driving incidents and more than 100,000 fatigue events on Australian roads in the past year.
The data highlights a gap between how safe drivers believe they are and the risks that are actually occurring in real time.
Research from the Australian Automobile Association supports this concern, showing distraction contributes to around one in six serious crashes, while fatigue is linked to up to 30 per cent of incidents.
For fleet operators, the findings reinforce a familiar challenge. Policies, training and vehicle safety technology can all reduce risk, but driver mindset remains a critical part of road safety.
The risk drivers do not always recognise
Nathan Wallis, neuroscience educator and AutoSense partner, said the “she’ll be right” mindset can be dangerous because many drivers judge future risk based on past outcomes.
“People operate on a ‘100 per cent success rate’ model; they think because nothing has gone wrong before, nothing will go wrong this time,” Wallis said.
“But in reality, the brain is constantly filling in gaps when we’re distracted, predicting what it expects to see. That becomes dangerous the moment something unexpected happens.”
That gap between perception and reality is particularly important for organisations managing vehicles as part of daily operations. A driver may believe they are alert and in control, while distraction or fatigue is already reducing their ability to respond.
Fatigue is harder to detect than many drivers think
Katrina Aubrey, AutoSense sleep and fatigue specialist, said fatigue is often underestimated because it does not always feel like an obvious impairment.
“Fatigue doesn’t shout, it whispers. And the science shows we’re less likely to recognise when we’re impaired,” Aubrey said.
“It’s not just about how long you’ve been awake. Sleep quality, routine, stress and overall health all play a role, which is why people often feel fine to continue driving when they’re not.”
For Fleet Managers and safety teams, this creates a practical challenge. Fatigue risk is not limited to long-haul driving or extreme working hours. It can also appear in everyday work patterns, early starts, poor sleep, high stress periods and repeated short trips.
Everyday behaviour can create serious consequences
Greg Murphy, former Supercars champion and AutoSense ambassador, said many road safety incidents are linked to small decisions that feel harmless at the time.
“It’s not just the obvious risks people need to think about,” Murphy said.
“It’s the small things – checking your phone, changing a song, pushing through when you’re tired. They feel harmless in the moment, but they can have serious consequences.”
Murphy said experience behind the wheel can sometimes make the problem worse by reinforcing a false sense of control.
“We tend to think we’re better drivers than we are, or that we can manage the risk. But the reality is, fatigue and distraction don’t work like that – they affect everyone,” Murphy said.
A reminder for fleets during National Road Safety Week
National Road Safety Week is an opportunity for fleets to review how driver risk is identified, measured and managed.
Driver monitoring and telematics data can help organisations move beyond assumptions by identifying fatigue and distraction events as they happen. This can support targeted coaching, better conversations with drivers, and a clearer understanding of where risk is emerging across a fleet.
Aubrey said the greatest concern is that drivers may not always recognise the risk until it is too late.
“The biggest risk isn’t always what drivers can see – it’s what they don’t recognise,” Aubrey said.
“Fatigue and distraction don’t always feel dangerous, and that’s exactly why they are.”
