Driving Home After Night Shift: Managing Commute Fatigue

Night shift driving fatigue is one of the most underrated risks in traffic control. After a shift that ends in the early hours, a controller may have been awake for most of a day, and the drive home often falls at the body's lowest point. Employers should plan for that drive, and workers need a safe way to say they are too tired.

This guide focuses on the commute itself: why it is risky, what the law says, what companies can change, and what controllers can do on the night. It sits alongside our fatigue management guide for traffic control, which covers hour limits and rosters. It is general information, not legal or medical advice.

Why the drive home is the risky part

A night shift controller's day often looks like this: a few hours' sleep in the afternoon, a drive to site, a long shift in the cold or rain with constant vigilance, pack-down, then a drive home as the sky starts to lighten. Several things stack up:

• Time of day. SafeWork NSW's Code of Practice on managing the risk of fatigue at work notes that fatigue risk increases after 10 pm and is particularly high between 2 am and 6 am.
• Time awake. Someone who woke at 1 pm and finishes at 5 am has been awake for 16 hours before they start the car.
• The finish. Pack-down is busy and focused. The drop in adrenaline once the ute pulls away is when drowsiness hits.
• Sun glare. Driving east into a low sunrise after a night of artificial light adds eye strain.
• Distance. Outer-suburban and regional jobs can add an hour or more of driving.

Travel is a recognised part of the fatigue picture. The Austroads guide for traffic controllers says management of fatigue includes travel to and from the worksite.

What the law says about commuting

Commuting sits in a grey area, and the guidance is careful about it. SafeWork NSW's fatigue code, which commenced on 20 February 2026, says workers and employers can both have duties relating to commuting. Its key points are:

• The employer's duty to workers applies while they are at work. It may not extend specifically to driving to or from work.
• The employer may still need to manage the risk where extended commutes mean workers are fatigued while at work.
• The employer's duty to make sure other people are not put at risk by the business may mean it has a duty where workers become fatigued at work and then put other road users at risk driving home.
• Workers also have duties, for example not to arrive at work fatigued because of an extended commute.

What is reasonable depends on the circumstances. A long commute is a foreseeable hazard on a remote job with no nearby accommodation, for example. The code also notes that naps can be provided at the end of a shift to reduce fatigue risk during the commute. Read the current version from SafeWork NSW or your state regulator.

Driving a company vehicle is different again: the vehicle is a workplace while it is used for work, so the employer's WHS duties apply directly. Heavy vehicle fatigue laws may also apply to some TMA trucks, depending on the vehicle. Check with the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator.

What employers can change

The most effective controls are decided when the job is booked and rostered, not when the controller is standing at the ute at 5 am.

Fatigue is also a reason to look at the rest of the roster. A controller who did a day shift for another company before your night shift is a commuting risk you cannot see unless you ask. Our traffic controller rostering guide covers how allocators can account for this.

Before the shift: setting up a safer drive home

Much of the drive home is won or lost before the shift starts.

1. Sleep before the first night. The fatigue code suggests encouraging workers to nap in the afternoon before their first night shift.
2. Plan the trip. Know the route home and where you can safely pull over to rest.
3. Eat sensibly. Heavy meals late in the shift can add to drowsiness.
4. Share where you can. If several controllers live in the same direction, travel together with one rested driver.
5. Pack for the morning. Sunglasses for the sunrise glare, water, and a phone charger.

On the night: before you turn the key

At pack-down, take an honest look at yourself before driving. If you are yawning, heavy-eyed or struggling to concentrate, you are not fit to drive yet.

Practical options:

• Rest first. Transport for NSW suggests a power nap of about 20 minutes when you are drowsy. The fatigue code warns that naps can cause sleep inertia, the groggy feeling after waking, and recommends allowing time to recover before going back to a safety-critical task. Give yourself that time before driving.
• Swap or share the driving. Let a rested crew mate drive.
• Use the alternative. If the company offers a taxi or rideshare, use it.
• Stay nearby. On long regional jobs, sleep before driving home rather than pushing through.

What does not work: the fatigue code says stimulants such as caffeine should not be relied on as a fatigue control, and Transport for NSW notes that caffeine's effects do not last long and do not work for everyone. Open windows, loud music and chewing gum do not fix fatigue either. Sleep is the only real cure.

Warning signs while driving

Pull over somewhere safe as soon as you notice:

• yawning, heavy eyelids or sore eyes
• trouble keeping your head up or focusing
• drifting in the lane or over the edge line
• missing a turn, a sign or a change in speed limit
• not remembering the last few kilometres
• a microsleep, where you nod off for a few seconds

A microsleep at 80 km/h means travelling a long way with nobody in control. If one happens, stop driving. Do not try to make it the last few kilometres.

Common commute fatigue mistakes

• Counting only site hours. The roster shows a compliant shift, but the controller drove 90 minutes each way. Fatigue checks should use door-to-door time.
• The early finish trap. A shift that finishes early because the work was done ahead of schedule can still leave someone driving home at 3 am after a short sleep the afternoon before.
• The switch back to days. The first day shift after a run of nights often follows a broken sleep, so the morning drive in is risky too. Build a longer break into the roster.
• Regional jobs without beds. Asking a crew to drive back to the city after a night on a highway job because accommodation was not quoted is a common shortcut. Price the accommodation into the job. Our rural road works traffic control guide covers the other planning issues on country jobs.
• Leaning on the keen ones. The controller who always says yes to an extra night is often the most tired person on the roster.

Before-you-drive checklist for night shift crews

Print this for the ute or put it in the end-of-shift routine.

• I had a sleep before this shift
• I have been awake for a reasonable number of hours, including the drive home
• I feel alert, not yawning or heavy-eyed
• I know my route and where I can stop to rest
• I have sunglasses for the sunrise
• If I am tired, I will rest first, swap drivers or use the company alternative
• My supervisor has asked if I am fit to drive, and I answered honestly

Next steps

Look at next month's night roster and add the travel time to every shift. If the total looks long, change the roster or book accommodation before the job, not after a near miss on the highway. The free roster fatigue checker shows which weeks leave too little rest, and our guide to night works traffic management covers the wider planning for after-dark jobs. For driver fatigue advice, see Transport for NSW.