Health Conditions, Driving Practice, and Self-Reported Fatigue among Long-Haul Truck Drivers: The National Survey of U.S. Long-Haul Truck Driver Health and Injury
Driver fatigue and sleepiness may impact driver alertness and performance, which may lead to increased risk of road crashes and poor health. In 2010, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) conducted a nationally representative survey of long-haul truck drivers to help characterize health and safety risk factors in this population. Self-reported health conditions, hours of driving or on-duty, and hours of sleep were collected from 900 truck drivers by interview and through a retrospective Sleep and Activity diary. A multivariable logistic model for high self-reported ratings of fatigue including working/driving character, demographics, and health conditions was developed. Fatigue was defined as a driver being so tired that the driver needed to take a break or sleep, and was determined by ratings on a Likert Scale. Forty-four percent of drivers indicated self-reported fatigue ratings of 6 or above on the day during the previous week when they felt most fatigued. Model-based standardized marginal risk ratios showed that high self-reported fatigue ratings increased with number of hours driving or on duty, poor quality of sleep, driving alone, and body mass index (BMI). High self-reported fatigue ratings were greater for driver health conditions such as heart disease, back pain, and emphysema. Use of Continuous Positive Air Pressure (CPAP) had a protective effect, as did years worked as a driver in a job requiring a mandatory rest period away from home during each run. This study suggests that development of trucking policy and programs to minimize long-haul truck driver fatigue should include consideration of working, sleeping, and health conditions.
- Record URL:
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Supplemental Notes:
- This paper was sponsored by TRB committee ACS60 Standing Committee on Truck and Bus Safety.
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Corporate Authors:
Transportation Research Board
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Authors:
- Sieber, W Karl
- Hitchcock, Edward M
- Sweeney, Marie H
- Robinson, Cynthia F
- Wong, Imelda
- Chen, Guang-X
- Lincoln, Jennifer E
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Conference:
- Transportation Research Board 100th Annual Meeting
- Location: Washington DC, United States
- Date: 2021-1-5 to 2021-1-29
- Date: 2021
Language
- English
Media Info
- Media Type: Digital/other
- Features: References; Tables;
- Pagination: 19p
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Fatigue (Physiological condition); Health; Hours of labor; Logistic regression analysis; Multivariate analysis; Obesity; Risk analysis; Service by length of haul; Sleep; Surveys; Truck drivers
- Geographic Terms: United States
- Subject Areas: Freight Transportation; Highways; Planning and Forecasting; Safety and Human Factors;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 01764295
- Record Type: Publication
- Report/Paper Numbers: TRBAM-21-00612
- Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
- Created Date: Feb 4 2021 11:00AM