Easter travel, fatigue and daylight saving collideThursday 2 Apr 2026
Over the past three years, New Zealand’s Easter road toll has remained too high, with five deaths recorded over Easter 2025, nine in 2024 and ten in 2023. Each represents a family waiting for someone who never came home - underscoring the ongoing risk as more drivers take to the roads for extended holiday travel. While the daylight saving time change is often associated with gaining an hour of sleep, fatigue experts warn that the shift comes with a darker side: disrupting circadian rhythms, altering alertness patterns, and affecting driver performance at exactly the time traffic volumes increase. Katrina Aubrey, AutoSense Fatigue and Sleep Specialist, says this year’s timing creates a convergence of risk factors for both drivers at work and those heading away with family and friends. “Fatigue doesn’t take holidays - and neither does human physiology. This Easter, increased traffic, long-distance travel and disrupted routines are colliding with a daylight saving shift. Even though we technically gain an hour, our body clocks don’t reset overnight. For many drivers, it can take up to a week, sometimes two, for alertness and sleep patterns to stabilise again.” AutoSense data highlights the prevalence of fatigue risk on New Zealand roads. Analysis from nearly 6,000 Guardian by Seeing Machines cameras installed in commercial vehicles across the country recorded 19,336 human-verified fatigue events and 51,597 distraction events in a 12-month period - prompting an average of 53 driver wake-up interventions every day. Aubrey says this provides a baseline picture of fatigue risk that may be amplified during periods of increased travel. “These figures show fatigue is already present every day on New Zealand roads. When you factor in longer journeys, altered routines, and heavier traffic over Easter, the risk of fatigue-related incidents increases. For some, Easter travel follows a demanding work week, while for others it means early departures, late returns or unfamiliar routes. When these factors collide with circadian disruption, even brief lapses in attention can carry serious consequences.” The Guardian data also highlights the broader nature of distraction risk. Mobile phone use accounted for 14,575 distraction events - around 28 percent - while the remaining 72 percent were linked to other in-cab distractions including adjusting music, navigation or looking away from the road. Aubrey says this reinforces the importance of managing both fatigue and distraction during peak travel periods. “Fatigue and distraction often go hand-in-hand. When drivers are tired, their ability to manage competing demands reduces. Holiday travel can increase cognitive load - unfamiliar routes, heavier traffic and time pressure - all of which can increase risk.” More >> Source & image credit: AutoSense  | ||
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