HOURS OF WORK, AND PERCEPTIONS OF FATIGUE AMONG TRUCK DRIVERS

Drivers and companies operating in the heavy road transport industry w ere surveyed about drivers' hours of work and perceptions of the cause s and magnitude of fatigue as an industry problem. These drivers were operating in a state which, at the time of the survey, did not restric t driving hours for heavy haulage drivers. On the day of the interview , estimates based on retrospective and prospective reports, suggest th at in a 24 hour period about 38% of drivers exceed 14 hours of driving , and 51% exceed 14 hours of driving plus other non-driving work. Abou t 12% of drivers reported less than 4 hours of sleep on one or more wo rking days in the week preceding the interview. These drivers are like ly to be operating their vehicles while having a significant sleep deb t. About 20% of drivers reported less than 6 hours sleep before starti ng their current journey, but nearly 40% of dangerous events that occu rred on the journey were reported by these drivers (p<0.05). Many driv ers and company representatives reported fatigue to be a problem for o ther drivers, but considered themselves or their companies' drivers to be relatively unaffected by fatigue. There were differences between d rivers' and companies' perceptions about causes of fatigue, and strate gies that should be used to manage it. The results obtained from these drivers in an unregulated state were compared with earlier findings f rom drivers in states where driving hours restrictions are in place. ( C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.