With the school holidays, Anzac Day and the Easter long weekend not too far away, motorists are being urged to take care on the roads by ensuring they are maintaining a quality sleep pattern. 

According to Centre for Road Safety, fatigue is one of the big three killers on NSW roads and being awake for more than 17 hours has a similar effect on performance as a blood alcohol content of 0.05.

Wagga resident Darren Rudinger travels to and from Holbrook for work each day and admitted that he suffers from driver fatigue at least once a week. 

"I leave Wagga at 6am to start work at 7am, then work the full day and leave at 4pm to be home by 5pm," Mr Rudinger said. 

"It's a real struggle some mornings and if I feel myself starting to get tired, I'll usually wind down the window and blast some music until I can pull up somewhere safe for a quick rest." 

Mr Rudinger said he has undertaken fatigue training through his job position that involves scheduling truck drivers. 

"I work for an interstate transport company and so it's understood that if I'm worried about my fatigue and do pull over for a rest, that I probably had a very good reason," he said. 

"If I didn't practice what I preach, then I'd feel pretty bad about endangering everyone else on the road. 

"I did learn a lot from the training, and after being in the transport industry for nearly 10 years, I have seen far too many accidents caused by fatigue.

"It would be a great idea for everyone on the road to do some form of training fatigue, maybe not as in depth as professional truck drivers, but if it was incorporated into the general knowledge test for learners and provisional licensing it would make the roads a safer place to be," he said. 

Sleep expert at Charles Sturt University Dr Melissa Skein said coffee and energy drink stimulants are not replacements to sleep. 

"The caffeine ingested with these types of drinks can very temporarily improve fatigue but not to the degree of what is required for driving," Dr Skein said. 

"If fatigue is present, under no circumstances should these drinks replace or be a substitute to sleep. 

"Long term consumption of these drinks are also not beneficial for overall health." 

Dr Skein said the only cure to fatigue is sleep and 20 minute power naps can be effective. 

"Research has shown that power naps can be effective and 20 minutes can be adequate to improving cognition and levels of alertness," she said. 

"However, it is recommended that someone is engaging in sleep patterns on a regular basis rather than depending on power naps as a solution." 

Acting Sergeant at Wagga Highway Patrol Jamie Mooney urged people to manage and monitor their fatigue and to be aware of the warning signs. 

"These include yawning, feeling stiff or cramped, reduced reaction times and not being in control of the speed: you might be exceeding or dropping below the speed limit without realising," he said. 

Acting Sergeant Mooney said highway patrol officers look out for driver behaviour on the road and whether they are committing traffic offences like exceeding or driving under the speed limit, to determine whether someone is suffering from fatigue.

"We take mobile random breath tests and engage in fairly informal chats with the driver, asking them where they're traveling to, where did they start their journey and how long they have been driving," he said. 

"Fatigue can happen at anytime, like driving to and from work or driving on long trips, but statistics show that fatigue-related accidents often happen on short trips or when the motorist is close to their destination."

Acting Sergeant Mooney's top tips to avoid drivers becoming fatigued were:

The highway patrol officer urged motorists to be mindful of more drivers on the road in the upcoming holiday period. 

Test your tired self here.