SWEET DREAMS?

Sufficient rest is essential for lorry drivers. This article discusses the need for sleep and the dangers of having insufficient sleep, and reports interviews with five English drivers about their experiences. Adequate sleep helps the brain and the liver and improves breathing. Lack of good sleep can have a devastating effect on both body and mind. For example, people can make more mistakes, age faster, and, in extreme cases, have hallucinations. People's sleep needs vary, and are usually between five and nine hours per night. Some people also have sleep disorders, such as insomnia and apnoea; in one Australian medical survey, all of the 50 lorry drivers tested had sleep apnoea, so that they risked falling asleep at the wheel and causing serious accidents. The first driver interviewed by the author had seven to eight hours of good sleep per night, even though it was in the cab of his parked lorry, and felt that he had enough rest. The second, who drives food across Europe, had a similar experience, and said that his Daf XF95 tractor unit had a 'lovely' bed. The third slept well on the whole, but has had one bout of sleep apnoea. The fourth sleeps about two nights a week in his spacious cab, the other nights in bed. The fifth usually sleeps seven hours a night, and finds his Daf XF95 Superspace 'very comfortable'.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/00103063
• Corporate Authors:

  Reed Business Information, Limited

  Quadrant House, The Quadrant
  Brighton Road
  Sutton, Surrey  United Kingdom  SM2 5AS
• Authors:
  • MAUGHAN, T
• Publication Date: 1999-4

Language

• English

Media Info

• Pagination: p. 36-7
• Serial:
  • COMMERCIAL MOTOR
  • Volume: 189
  • Issue Number: 4819
  • Publisher: Reed Business Information, Limited
  • ISSN: 0010-3063

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Drivers; Fatigue (Physiological condition); Hazards; Interviewing; Trucks
• Geographic Terms: United Kingdom
• ITRD Terms: 1772: Driver; 2222: Fatigue (human); 9147: Interview; 1236: Lorry; 9150: Risk; 8119: United Kingdom
• Subject Areas: Motor Carriers; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00766913
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Transport Research Laboratory
• Files: ITRD
• Created Date: Aug 2 1999 12:00AM