The effect of circadian rhythms on shipping accidents

Abstract

It is a well-known fact that humans are subject to circadian alterations caused by the action of sunlight. This strongly affects their behaviour and skill, making them change their level of alertness from high at daytime to low at night-time. Taking into account this biological feature, and considering that commercial shipping is one of the oldest round-the-clock activities, raises the question whether bridge watchkeepers can carry out their tasks on night shifts with the same level of alertness as on day shifts. Furthermore, night bridge watchkeeping has to be performed in darkness or very dim light to improve the visual capacity of lookouts. A sample of vessel collisions was analysed and it was find out that this kind of accident tends to be more frequent and more serious during the darkness period of the solar day.

The Role of High-Risk Behaviors, Fatigue, and Drowsiness in the Occurrence of Road Accidents and Near Miss Accidents among Tehran Truck Drivers in 2019

“…Accordingly, an increase in the duration of driving increased the rate of accidents, yet an increase in rest hours decreased the number of driving accidents. These findings were confirmed by many studies, including Darwent et al [37], Vinagre-Ríos et al [38], and Godzik [39]. To explain these findings, one can say that drivers' fatigue lowers their ability to judge and make correct decisions, which can have dangerous consequences.…”