Abstract
Although numerous research studies have investigated the effects of fatigue in commercial motor vehicle drivers, research with winter maintenance (WM) drivers is sparse. This study pilot-tested the feasibility of evaluating WM operator fatigue during winter emergencies using naturalistic driving data. Four WM operators participated in the study and drove two instrumented snow plows for three consecutive winter months. The operators also wore an actigraph device used to measure sleep quantity. As this was a pilot study, the results were limited and only provided an estimation of what may be found in a large-scale naturalistic driving study with WM operators. Results showed the majority of safety-critical events (SCEs) occurred during the night, and approximately half of the SCEs occurred when participants were between 5 and 8 h into their shifts. Fatigue was identified as the critical reason in 33% of the SCEs, and drivers were found to average less sleep during winter emergencies versus winter non-emergencies. However, one participant accounted for all fatigue-related SCEs. Although data were limited to two instrumented trucks and four drivers, results support the approach of using naturalistic driving data to assess fatigue in WM operators. Future on-road research is needed to understand the relationship between fatigue and crash risk in WM operators.
Highlights
Research has shown that fatigue can significantly degrade driving performance through a loss of alertness and vigilance, decreased attention, increased reaction time, and an increased frequency in microsleeps [1]
The Large Truck Crash Causation Study conducted by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) reported that approximately 4% of truck crashes were primarily caused by the driver sleeping at the wheel, and 13% involved driver fatigue as an associated factor [2]
369 h of during the study; 339 h were collected during winter emergencies and 30 h were collected during normal video and sensor data were collected during the study; 339 h were collected during winter operations duringand the 30 winter (e.g., mostlyduring travelnormal to and operations from different work no(e.g., plow was attached emergencies h were collected during thesites, winter mostly travel to the truck)
Summary
Research has shown that fatigue can significantly degrade driving performance through a loss of alertness and vigilance, decreased attention, increased reaction time, and an increased frequency in microsleeps [1]. These characteristics of fatigue may develop more frequently for commercial motor vehicle drivers as they experience varying work schedules, unusual work shifts (e.g., night driving), and long, monotonous driving conditions. Numerous research studies have been performed on the effects of fatigue in commercial motor vehicle drivers, research with winter maintenance (WM) operators is sparse. Recent news reports in the United States and Canada suggest
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