Book Description

This is the full final report on the largest and most comprehensive over-the-road study of commercial motor vehicle driver fatigue ever conducted in North America. Data collection involved 80 drivers in the US and Canada who were monitored over a 16-week period. Work-related factors thought to influence the development of fatigue, loss of alertness, and degraded performance in drivers were studied within an operational setting of real-life, revenue-generating runs. These factors included the amount of time spent driving during a work period, the number of consecutive days of driving, the time of day when driving took place, and schedule regularity. Chapter 1 contains the background to the study and information on study objectives and overall approach. Chapter 2 presents a detailed literature review on driver fatigue and its measurement, as well as on the involvement of fatigue in crashes. The next two chapters present the study methodology, data collection methods, and detailed results. The final chapter contains an overview of the results (including the most significant factors affecting fatigue & alertness, as well as findings related to scientific methodologies & fatigue countermeasure concepts) and the study's conclusions and recommendations.