If you’re travelling on a highway in south-east Queensland, it may scare you to know some of your fellow travellers may be falling asleep after 15 hours of working and driving.

That is according to Professor Peter Smith, who has identified a trend for metropolitan people to work longer hours and commute further, causing severe fatigue problems.

Professor Smith said CBD house prices had forced many people to live further from work and many people were working longer hours.

“People may also be heading home at odd hours, which are bad for their body rhythms,” he said.

“Combine all that with a busy home life and you have the potential for a lethal cocktail of fatigue.”.

Professor Smith, of Central Queensland University's Faculty of Business & Law, is planning workshops for employers in Brisbane this August (August 3).

The workshops, to be conducted by the Cooperative Research Centre in Integrated Engineering Asset Management, will encourage safe design of work hours and monitoring of work hours.

“In this case, the health and safety issue extends beyond the workplace. In this case, the safety rail is effective fatigue management,” he said.ENDS Details about the workshop are available via Benita Maudsley - 07 4970 7377 or cieam@cqu.edu.au