A truck driver who caused a fatal head-on has been charged with breaching fatigue management policies.

Fifty-five-year-old Victorian truck driver Kenneth Laurence Pillar is awaiting sentencing in the South Australian District Court for causing death by dangerous driving.

The charges come after 61-year-old Maria Dowdell was killed by a semi-trailer Pillar was driving, which collided with her car on the wrong side of the road on Swanport Bridge in June 2015.

Pillar claimed in court that he had a coughing fit and became unconscious moments before the crash.

He has now been charged with breaching national heavy vehicle laws by allegedly recording false information and failing to take minimum required breaks.

Prosecutors allege that 11 offences took place between May 19, 2015 and June 16, 2015 prior to the fatal crash.

Pillar wheezed and appeared to collapse in his seat in the dock of the Adelaide Magistrates Court during the trial.

He reportedly sat up immediately when prison security guards told him to.

Pillar has frequently appeared to black-out during his court hearings, closing his eyes and slumping his head back.

The prosecution has accused the behaviour of being faked in an attempt to avoid responsibility for the crash.

It alleges that Pillar was in fact distracted by his girlfriend in the passenger’s seat.

Pillar will be back in District Court for more sentencing submissions over the fatal crash next month.