Table Of Content5611
Department
U.S.
of Transportation
Federal Motor Carrier
Safety Administration
IMPA CT OF LOCAL/SHORT HA UL
ON
OPERATIONS DRIVER FATIGUE
DEPARTMENT OF
OCT 2 7 2000
NASSIF BRANCH
LIBRARY
REPORT NO. DOT-MC-00-203
This document is disseminated under the sponsorship ofthe Department ofTransportation in the
interest ofinformation exchange. The United States government assumes no liability for its
contents or use thereof. This report does not constitute a standard, specification, or regulation.
The United States government does not endorse products or manufacturers. Trade and
manufacturers’ names appear in this report only because they are considered essential to the
object ofthis document.
.ub /lo-
( f
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Technical Report Documentation Page
1. Report No. 2. GovernmentAccession No. 3. Recipient's Catalog No.
DOT-MC-00-203
4. Titleand Subtitle 5. Report Date
Impactof Local Short Haul Operations on Driver Fatigue 8-10-0
Final Report
6. Performing Organization Code
8. Performing Organization Report No.
7. Author(s)
Hanowski, Wierwille, Garness, Dingus
9. Performing Organization Name andAddress 10. Work Unit No. (TRAIS)
Virginia Tech Transportation Institute
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University 11. ContractorGrant No.
Blacksburg, Virginia
15. 13.TypeofReportand Period Covered
12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address
Federal MotorCarrier Safety Administration Final Report
I
4160.0 Seventh Street, SW
Washington, DC 20590 14. Sponsoring AgencyCode
Supplementary Notes
RobertJ. Carrroll was the FMCSA COTR forthis project.
Abstract
Though they comprise the largest segment ofthe trucking industry, research involving local/short haul (L/SH) operations has
been scant. In fact, little is known aboutthe general safety issues in L/SH operations. As a precursorto the present research,
Hanowski, Wierwille, Gellatly, Early, and Dingus (1998) conducted a series offocus groups in which L/SH drivers provided their
perspective on safety issues, including fatigue, in their industry. As a follow-up to the Hanowski et al. work, the effort presented
here consisted ofan on-road field study where L/SH trucks were instrumented with data collection equipment. Two L/SH
trucking companies and 42 L/SH drivers participated in this research. To the author's knowledge, this is the first in-situ data
collection effort ofits kind with L/SH drivers. The analyses focused on determining iffatigue is an issue in L/SH operations. Of
primary interestwere critical incidents (near-crashes) where drivers werejudged to be atfault. The results ofthe analyses
indicated thatfatigue was present immediately priorto driverinvolvement in at-fault critical incidents. Though it is difficultto
determine whyfatigue was present, the results seem to indicate that much ofthefatigue thatthe drivers’ experienced was
17.
broughtwith them to thejob, ratherthan being caused by thejob. The results ofthis research culminate in a setofguidelines to
addressfatigue and othersafety issues in L/SH operations.
KeyWords 18. Distribution Statement
Fatigue, alertness, local short haul, instrumented vehicles
19. SecurityClassif. (ofthis report) 20. Security Classif. (ofthis page) 21. No. ofPages 22. Price
Unclassified Unclassified 244
Form DOT F 1700.7 (8-72) Reproduction ofcompleted page authorized
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Final Report
Impact of Local Short Haul Operations
On
Driver Fatigue
Prepared for:
Robert J. Carroll, Project Manager
U.S. Department ofTransportation
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
Office ofResearch and Technology
SW
400 Seventh Street,
Washington, DC 20590
Richard Hanowski
J.
Walter W. Wierwille
Andrew W. Gellatly
Nancy Early
Thomas A. Dingus
Center for Transportation Research
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
1700 Kraft Drive, Suite 2000 (0536)
Blackburgs, Virginia 24061
September, 2000
'
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This research was funded by the Federal Highway Administration, Office ofMotor
Carriers (now the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration) under contract DTFH61-96-C-
OO105. The Contracting Officer’s Technical Representative (COTR) was Robert Carroll. Dr.
Ron Knipling served as the COTR in the earlier phases and continued his involvement
throughout the project. The authors thank Mr. Carroll and Dr. Knipling for their careful reviews
and prompt attention in administrative matters.
Our special thanks go to the beverage company and the snack food company, as well as
the drivers ofthose companies, who participated in the field study. These organizations and their
drivers were generous with their help.
Thanks go also to the local/short haul drivers who participated in the focus groups of
Phase I. These individuals were conscientious, candid, and professional.
Thanks go to Dr. Andrew Gellatly who served as a moderator in some ofthe focus
groups, and to Jim York who provided background information on the local/short haul industry.
The authors would also wish to thank Andrew Petersen, Mark Young, Wayne Swanson,
and Jared Bryson who built, installed, and serviced the instrumentation used in the data gathering
vehicles. In addition, thanks go to Brian Daily who developed the data reduction and archival
software for this project, and to Melissa Dugger who helped coordinate the data collection,
reduction, and archiving processes.
ABSTRACT
The United States Department ofTransportation (1996) lists a multitude ofpast research
efforts and future research endeavors aimed at trucking operations. Despite comprising a smaller
part ofthe trucking industry, the majority ofthis research has been directed at long-haul
operations. Massie, Blower, and Campbell (1997) indicate that trucks that operate less than 50
miles from the vehicle's home base comprise approximately 58 percent ofthe trucking industry.
However, despite being the largest segment ofthe trucking industry, research involving
local/short haul (L/SH) operations has been scant. In fact, very little is known about the general
safety issues in L/SH operations.
One ofthe few research efforts to investigate safety issues in L/SH operations was
recently conducted by Hanowski, Wierwille, Gellatly, Early, and Dingus (1998). As a precursor
to the present research, Hanowski et al. conducted a series offocus groups whereby L/SH drivers
provided their perspective on safety issues, including fatigue, in their industry. As a follow-on to
the Hanowski et al. work, the effort presented here consisted ofan on-road field study where
L/SH trucks were instrumented with data collection equipment. To the authors' knowledge, this
was the first in-situ data collection effort ofits kind with L/SH drivers. Data gathered from the
drivers, as they worked their normal routes, were analyzed. For this research effort, the analysis
focused on determining iffatigue is an issue in L/SH operations.
There are six basic outputs stemming from this research: (1) a description ofthe L/SH
drivers who participated in the study and oftheir workday, (2) a description and categorization of
"critical incidents," (3) a determination iffatigue is an issue in L/SH trucking using a five-factor
analytical model, (4) an analysis focusing on critical incidents occurring while making lane
changes and backing maneuvers, (5) the validation ofthe fatigue factors cited in Hanowski et al.
(1998) using a proposed fatigue model, and (6) pragmatic guidelines to address fatigue and other
safety issues in L/SH operations.
Based on the results ofthe statistical analyses that were conducted on a number ofdata
sets collected during the field study, five guidelines are proposed. The first guideline pertains to
driver education with regard to on-the-job drowsiness/inattention. Results from the data analysis
li
indicated that driver fatigue and inattention were over-represented to a statistically significant
degree during an interval immediately preceding driver-at-fault critical incidents. The second
guideline is directed at driver education with regard to sleep hygiene. The recommendation was
made because the data from this study suggest that drivers who showed signs offatigue, and
were involved in a driver-at-fault critical incident, had less sleep and poorer quality sleep than
drivers who did not show outward signs offatigue. The third guideline is directed at improved
driver training, particularly for novice L/SH truck drivers. This guideline was developed based
on the numerous statistically significant findings showing that young age and inexperience were
important factors in drivers being involved in critical incidents where they werejudged to be at
fault. The fourth guideline addresses the idea ofdriver screening whereby L/SH companies
could identify unsafe drivers prior to hire. The results from the data collected here indicated that
the majority ofcritical incidents were caused by very few drivers. The fifth, and last, guideline
pertains to the public monitoring ofL/SH driver performance. Similar to the practice instituted
by many long-haul trucking companies, it is recommended that L/SH companies solicit feedback
on L/SH driver performance from the general motoring public by using "how's my driving"
stickers on the back oftrucks. Though neither ofthe L/SH companies that participated in the
field study used such stickers, drivers in the Phase I focus groups suggested that signs on the
back oftrailers are an effective way to communicate and interact with the motoring public.
Generally speaking, the results ofthis study found that drivers demonstrated
characteristics offatigue on thejob. Because this was a field study, it is difficult to determine
with certainty why fatigue was present. However, based on the results ofmultiple analyses that
were conducted, it seems apparent that much ofthe fatigue that the drivers' experienced was
brought with them to thejob, rather than being caused by thejob. That is, poor sleep
quantity/quality were prominent for drivers who demonstrated signs offatigue on thejob.
Therefore, it is suggested that the off-duty behavior ofthe drivers was the primary contributing
factor in the level offatigue that was demonstrated during the workday. In addition, it is
suggested that because ofthe sleep habits ofthose L/SH drivers who typically demonstrated
fatigue on thejob, these same drivers/workers would likely show fatigue on thejob regardless of
their profession.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
PROJECT OVERVIEW
The U.S. Department ofCommerce’s (1994) TruckInventory and Use Survey (TIUS)
provides definitions for the trucking industry based on "range ofoperation." Range ofoperation
refers to the type oftrip (e.g., distance traveled) in which the vehicle typically operates. TIUS
does not provide a definition for local/short-haul operations per se; however, definitions are
A
provided for local operations and short-range operations. local range ofoperation is defined as
an operation that makes trips less than 50 miles from the vehicle’s home base. Short-range, or
short-haul, involve trips between 50 and 100 miles from the home base. Based on these two
definitions, local/short-haul (L/SH) operations can be defined as those that primarily engage in
trips of 100 miles or less from the home base. To provide some perspective on this definition,
long-haul operations, or those that likely come to mind when one thinks of"trucking," make trips
that are over 500 miles or more from the home base.
The United States Department ofTransportation (1996) lists a multitude ofpast research
efforts and future research endeavors aimed at trucking operations. Despite comprising a smaller
part ofthe trucking industry, the majority ofthis research has been directed at long-haul
operations. Massie, Blower, and Campbell (1997) indicate that trucks that operate less than 50
miles from the vehicle's home base comprise approximately 58% ofthe trucking industry.
However, despite being the largest segment ofthe trucking industry, research involving L/SH
operations has been scant. In fact, very little is known about the general safety issues in L/SH
operations.
The research that has been aimed at long-haul operations has focused on hours-of-service
(HOS) regulations and driver fatigue. One reason for this focus is the work routine oflong-haul
drivers. That is, the primary task for long-haul drivers is operating the vehicle. As such, their
workday consists mainly ofsitting behind the wheel and driving. On the other hand, the
workday tends to be more varied for L/SH drivers. For example, in addition to driving, a L/SH
driver may receive the day’s driving schedule, load and unload the vehicle, get in and out ofthe
vehicle numerous times, lift and carry packages, engage in customer relations, and perform other
IV
