Fatigue management for heavy vehicle drivers
Work and rest hours, spotting fatigue before it's a problem, and what to do when a driver needs to stand down on site.
Why fatigue matters
Fatigue slows reaction times and affects judgement much like alcohol does. For heavy vehicle drivers, long hours, early starts, night work and long waits at sites all add up.
Under the Heavy Vehicle National Law, fatigue isn't only the driver's responsibility. Schedulers, employers, operators and the sites that load and unload vehicles all affect how long drivers work and when they rest.
Work and rest hours
Drivers of fatigue-regulated heavy vehicles work under one of the fatigue management schemes in the HVNL: Standard Hours, Basic Fatigue Management (BFM) or Advanced Fatigue Management (AFM). Each sets the most a driver can work, and the least rest they must have, over different periods, and drivers record their work and rest in a work diary.
The limits change between schemes and solo or two-up driving, so check the current rules with the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) for the scheme your drivers work under.
Spotting fatigue
Common warning signs include:
- Yawning, heavy eyelids and trouble focusing
- Drifting in the lane or missing signs and turns
- Not remembering the last few kilometres
- Slower reactions and poor decisions
- Feeling irritable or restless
What everyone in the chain can do
- Plan trips so the work and rest limits can be met, including traffic and waiting time
- Ask drivers to check how tired they are before they start, and after long shifts
- Keep waiting times at your site short, and give drivers somewhere to rest
- Never pressure a driver to keep going when they need a break
- Record rest breaks taken on your site
When a driver needs to stand down
If a driver at your site is too tired to drive safely, they need to rest before they leave. Record when the rest started and ended, who the driver is and which vehicle, so there's a clear record of the break.
LOGFYX's Fatigue Stand-Down records the rest with a running clock and the server's time, and the driver leaves with a certificate they can show NHVR or Police. Safe Driving Plans help schedulers plan each leg within working and rest time, and the Fatigue Self-Assessment gives drivers a quick, private check before they drive.
General information only, not legal advice. Rules change and differ between states and territories, so check the current requirements with the NHVR, Safe Work Australia or your state regulator.
Related modules
Fatigue Stand-Down
Record a driver's rest break on site with a running clock. They leave with a certificate that NHVR or Police can verify.
Fatigue Self-Assessment
A quick, private check of how tired you are before you get behind the wheel.
Fitness for Duty
Staff assess their sleep, alcohol and drugs, and health before they start. Supervisors assess what they can see, with a drug and alcohol test step. A concern means no work until a supervisor clears it.
Safe Driving Plan
Plan each leg of a trip with working and rest time, and send it to the transport company. They accept it or send it back with a signature, with no login, and you're reminded before it's due for review.
More guides
What is Chain of Responsibility?
Who is in the chain under the Heavy Vehicle National Law, what each party is responsible for, and how to show you've done your part.
Digital prestart checklists
Why paper prestarts fail, what a good vehicle and machinery prestart covers, and how faults get to the person who can fix them.
Fitness for duty assessments explained
What a fitness for duty assessment checks, when to use a self-assessment or a supervisor assessment, and how to follow up a concern.
Load restraint: how many straps do you need?
How the NTC Load Restraint Guide works out the number of straps, and what blocking, friction and strap angle change.
Heavy vehicle mass limits: GML, HML and NHVAS
The mass limit schemes explained, what a weight declaration should record, and how to check loads against the weighbridge.
Going paperless: replacing paper safety forms
What changes when checks move from clipboards to phones, how to roll it out across sites, and how to keep records audit-ready.
Visitor and contractor sign-in
Replacing the paper visitor book: inductions before arrival, QR sign-in at the gate, and knowing who is on site in an emergency.
See it running on your own sites
We'll set up a demo with your sites, your assets and the modules you need, then walk your supervisors through it.