A REPORT ON THE DETERMINATION AND EVALUATION OF THE ROLE OF FATIGUE IN HEAVY TRUCK ACCIDENTS

A total of 255 accident reports on heavy truck accidents in 6 Western states were studied, and 221 of them had sufficient data to permit backtracking of the driver's preaccident activities, and a determination of the probable role of fatigue in the accident. The details of the study are described, and the results are discussed. It was found that fatigue is the probable/primary cause of 41% of the heavy truck accidents. It was also found that the number of over-hour drivers could be reduced by supplying enforcement agencies with the proper tools. The most reliable tool possible is the time-stamping and dating of all freight and fuel documents on each trip. A patrolman with a mileaged map and a $10.00 calculator could readily discover hours of service violations in the field if these documents were required to be time-stamped.

  • Corporate Authors:

    AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety

    607 14th Street, NW, Suite 201
    Washington, DC    20005

    Transportation and Marketing

    P.O. Box 914
    Challis, ID  United States  83226
  • Publication Date: 1985-10

Media Info

  • Pagination: 110 p.

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 00495778
  • Record Type: Publication
  • Source Agency: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
  • Report/Paper Numbers: HS-039 674
  • Files: HSL, USDOT
  • Created Date: Jul 31 1990 12:00AM