Dozing truckies to get wakeup call

MELBOURNE: Australian truck drivers showing signs of falling asleep at the wheel will get a wakeup call, courtesy of new technology being fitted to some heavy vehicles.

The infrared device focuses on the driver’s face and if they shut their eyes or look away from the road, their seat will vibrate and an alarm will sound.

Toll Group has fitted the technology to more than 1100 trucks in its national fleet, and company spokesman Jacques van Niekerk has confirmed wider distri bution after a sixmonth trial.

‘‘We have never had an accident so far where people have fallen asleep where we have the equipment on board,’’ Mr van Niekerk said yesterday, noting the system had been activated repeatedly.

‘‘We get a lot of alerts as we go on, seven alerts in the past week.’’

After a driver is caught, they will get a call from the control room and be asked to pull over for a forced 30minute break. The driver is then monitored for the remainder of their trip.