Another way to combat fatigue

A pilot program tests the idea that fatigue-management training for drivers could be more effective than hours-of-service restrictions in preventing accidents.

By -- Logistics Management, 8/1/2000

If Anthony McMahon has his way, the longhaul trucking industry over the next three years will radically change its approach to "hours of service" requirements and the overall health, well-being, safety, and productivity of drivers.

When McMahon was chief counsel for the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) from 1995 to 1999, he came to believe that there were significant weaknesses in the regulatory system and the way it was administered. "The regulations that caused the most problems for regulators and for the trucking industry were those related to hours of service—how long drivers can drive, how much time they must have off, and so on," reflects McMahon. Those regulations, introduced in 1937, restrict drivers to working for a maximum 15-hour period—including no more than 10 hours behind the wheel. They must follow that with eight hours off duty and may then work a maximum of another six hours.

Most affected by the hours-of-service regulations are long-distance truckload carriers and drivers. "The truckload segment has expanded to the point that it is the major segment of the industry," says McMahon, who is chairman of the federal bar's transportation division. "Drivers may be on the road for several weeks at a time, delivering one place, picking up somewhere else."

The less-than-truckload (LTL) companies that use hub-and-spoke operations, by contrast, rarely have problems with hours of service, he says. "[LTL] drivers' hours are governed by labor contracts, and terminals are usually within 500 miles, so drivers can get there easily within designated hours."

Although the current hours-of-service regulations were designed to protect drivers from fatigue, some experts now believe that these rules may actually be exacerbating the problem. "When it comes to fatigue, drivers tend to want to regulate themselves based on when they are tired," McMahon says. "However, the hours they want to drive and rest often conflict with hours-of-service regulations."

In the meantime, the driver-fatigue problem has fast grown into a crisis. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) reports that 31 percent of all truck-driver fatalities and 58 percent of all single-truck crashes are fatigue-related.

In addition, the Driver Fatigue and Alertness Study released by the Federal Highway Administration in 1997 reported that:

Fatigue was the number one factor in heavy-truck accidents.

Drivers thought 7.2 hours of sleep were sufficient, but on average they only got 4.8 hours. (Medical research shows that 7.5 to 8.0 hours are actually required.)

Few drivers were even able to tell when they were fatigued (although most believed they could).

In a similar vein, a State University of New York (Albany) study found that:

Two-thirds of truck drivers drove while drowsy at least once a month.

One-fourth fell asleep at the wheel at least once a year.

Federal authorities recently issued a proposal to revise the hours-of-service regulations (see the article appearing on Page 19 of Logistics' June 2000 issue). But McMahon believes there is an even better way to address the fatigue issue. Accordingly, the Safety Research Center in Bethesda, Md., a nonprofit corporation that McMahon founded to improve regulations related to motor carrier safety, has come forward with its own proposal for managing driver fatigue.

Pilot Program Authorized

McMahon is betting on an innovative idea—a system that would rely largely on the latest medical research on sleep and fatigue rather than simply specifying work hours.

He also is exploring the use of satellite tracking technology that was not available a few years ago as part of his proposed program. "Years ago, when drivers delivered their loads, they called their dispatchers to ask for their next loads," McMahon explains. The dispatchers would often say they didn't have anything but that the drivers should call in each hour until something was available. As a result, he says, "the drivers never got any rest."

With the advent of sophisticated satellite tracking and communication systems, however, trucking companies today are able to locate all of their trucks at any given time. Now, when a driver calls in, the dispatcher can say, "We don't have anything now. Go to sleep, and when we have something, we'll wake you." The driver can then sleep until awakened by a buzzer in his cab.

In 1998, McMahon lobbied Congress to authorize a pilot program that would rely on scientific fatigue-management techniques and satellite tracking and communication systems as an alternative to hours-of-service compliance for trucking companies. The recent Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on drivers' hours of service encourages pilot demonstration programs related to fatigue management, and McMahon and eminent Stanford University sleep researcher Dr. William Dement have begun recruiting trucking companies to participate in their program. According to McMahon, the response has been strong since motor carriers got a look at the new federal proposal, which many carriers reportedly have rejected as unworkable.

The project is just about ready to launch, and McMahon has lined up support from all of the players. The key agency involved in the project will be the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). In addition, Congress, DOT, the NTSB, and Stanford University will all have important roles to play.

Driver Training Is Key

Under the pilot program, the trucking companies will send a number of their drivers to Stanford for several days to receive fatigue-management training. The training will help the drivers understand the causes of fatigue, how to manage it (sleep patterns, sleep tips, diet considerations, etc.), and how they can determine on their own if they are alert or not. They will also be screened (and treated if necessary) for common sleep disorders, such as apnea.

After completing the training, the drivers will use their newly acquired knowledge to reduce or eliminate fatigue in their lives. To prevent the potential risk of drivers' exceeding fatigue-management parameters but not admitting or reporting it, the drivers' movements will be tracked by satellite.

The pilot program is designed to last for three years, at which time the DOT will report to Congress on any regulatory or statutory changes it might recommend based on the results of the program. McMahon and Dr. Dement, however, expect to achieve significant enough results within the first six months that they will be able to expand the scope of the program at that time to include an additional 20 or 25 trucking companies and their drivers.

The ultimate goal? "By the end of the three years, we hope that the regulators will begin to allow companies that apply for hours-of-service exemptions to create 'fatigue-sensitive operating plans' for approval," McMahon says. "If they receive these exemptions, their drivers would not have to keep logs, and all compliance would be tracked electronically."

Drivers Take Control

Perhaps the most radical aspect of McMahon's approach is its emphasis on giving drivers the education and authority to manage working hours themselves, rather than conform to inflexible government-mandated rules.

"I have always believed in this idea," says a trucking executive who requested anonymity. "This is what should be done for safety. As a driver myself 30 years ago, I realized that hours of service had nothing to do with whether drivers were rested or not. A driver's being alert is more important than how many hours he logs.

"What if a driver pulls into a truck stop, and the government expects him to go to sleep for eight hours, but he can't fall asleep?" the executive asks. "Maybe he gets two hours of sleep, and then he's expected to be back on the road again."

Drivers, not their employers, are the ones who should decide when they are able to drive, according to the executive. "The government thinks companies require drivers to break the hours-of-service rules," he says. "That's just not true. Companies may encourage or allow them to do so, but, ultimately, it's up to the drivers. As such, they're the ones who need to be able to make the decisions on when to drive and when not to drive, based on how alert they are."

William Atkinson is a freelance writer specializing in ergonomics and occupational safety issues.