Commercial Motor Vehicle Driver Fatigue, Long-Term Health, and Highway Safety : Research Needs

There are approximately 4,000 fatalities in crashes involving trucks and buses in the United States each year. Though estimates are wide-ranging, possibly 10 to 20 percent of these crashes might have involved fatigued drivers. The stresses associated with their particular jobs (irregular schedules, etc.) and the lifestyle that many truck and bus drivers lead, puts them at substantial risk for insufficient sleep and for developing short- and long-term health problems. Commercial Motor Vehicle Driver Fatigue, Long-Term Health and Highway Safety assesses the state of knowledge about the relationship of such factors as hours of driving, hours on duty, and periods of rest to the fatigue experienced by truck and bus drivers while driving and the implications for the safe operation of their vehicles. This report evaluates the relationship of these factors to drivers' health over the longer term, and identifies improvements in data and research methods that can lead to better understanding in both areas. Table of ContentsFront MatterSummary1 IntroductionPART I: BACKGROUND2 The Trucking and Bus Industries3 Consequences of Fatigue from Insufficient Sleep4 Hours-of-Service RegulationsPART II: CURRENT RESEARCH DATA AND METHODS5 Data Sources6 Research Methodology and Principles: Assessing CausalityPART III: CURRENT RESEARCH FINDINGS7 Fatigue, Hours of Service, and Highway Safety8 Fatigue and Health and Wellness9 Technological Countermeasures for and Corporate Management of FatiguePART IV: RESEARCH DIRECTIONS10 Research Directions for Fatigue and Highway Safety11 Research Directions for Studying the Impact of Fatigue on Commercial Motor Vehicle Drivers' Health and WellnessGlossaryReferencesAppendix: Biographical Sketches of Panel Members and StaffCommittee on National Statistics