"Fatigue" -by Don Asa, D&A Consultants, Inc.
January 2011 - Bulletin
Fatigue is an obnoxious side affect of a boring day or a big turkey dinner. But fatigue goes from annoying to serious when it involves moving vehicles or operating heavy equipment, especially on the highways. Case in point, the Department of Transportation estimates that approximately 41 percent of accidents are fatigue related.
It’s imperative that trucking companies and their drivers know the signs and limits of fatigue. The difficulty for a trucking company is properly assessing and addressing the limits of their drivers and operators while establishing effective policies to protect drivers from the dangers of fatigue, and while still maintaining an adequate level of productivity. Each company needs to assess itself and its drivers individually, based on the tasks their drivers are regularly asked to complete. There are thousands of different kinds of truck companies and trucking operations. Each company that hauls anything has its own unique transportation criteria and its own specific set of driver fatigue scenarios.
One thing all trucking companies have in common are drivers. Therefore, transportation companies all have to couple human and mechanical elements. Every company has to consider the viability of its drivers using all the circumstances under which they operate. There is a vast difference between long haul drivers and local delivery drivers; just as there are great differences between a regional logging operation and a truck company hauling refrigerated produce cross country. To account for these demands, a company should administer a questionnaire that is primarily concerned with their hours of service. This questionnaire should provide answers that help the company to actively and provably advise drivers how sleep deprivation and sleep debt effect driving and reaction time and also teach drivers to recognize these conditions.
Should the companies be concerned with fatigue, even when the driving aspect of the job is very limited? Of course! A company that combines physical labor and driving (like a plumber driving a plumbing truck or pickup) must make drivers aware of how their jobs may induce fatigue and how to recognize that fatigue. Ideally, every transportation company should have a continuous study in place to assess their day-to-day operations in relation to driver fatigue. Such studies, using information from simple questionnaires, can directly address situations that are most dangerous for drivers and identify what can be done to improve conditions and eliminate fatigue in the drivers’ seats.
The questionnaire should include the seniority of the driver, performance, (as documented by department supervisors), age, career ambitions, personal goals, and family hobbies. Not only do these questionnaires create a baseline for creating safety policies, but they also demonstrate that the company is concerned with safety -- the safety of the driver and the safety of the general public. Because 90—95 percent of all accidents involve driver error, it’s important to identify triggers that can further increase error -- key among them -- fatigue. The more knowledge a company has about fatigue on the job and the more knowledge they disseminate to drivers, the higher the rate of driver competency behind the wheel and the increase in safety numbers overall.
While companies and drivers must team up to battle fatigue on a company-wide level and to create successful safety polices, drivers can take their safety into their own hands with a few simple tips to avoid fatigue on the road:
Get a little grub. Eat before you hit the road, but avoid eating a large meal before a long drive. A lot of food can make you sleepy.
Keep it cool. A warm cabin temperature can induce sleepiness.
Rock out. An upbeat tune can keep you occupied and alert.
Take a walk. Stop every 2-3 hours and take a short five-minute walk. This increases circulation, keeps blood flowing and metabolism high all of which keep fatigue at bay.
Caffeinate…a little. A hot cup of coffee or a soda can give you a lift, but don’t rely on it to keep you awake for the entire haul.
Ring the alarm. Driver alarms fit over the ear and it will go off right in the ear if the head bobs or dips below a certain angle.
Companies and drivers must work together to protect each other and get the job done, safely. That is the priority!