The impact of local/short haul operations on driver fatigue [electronic resource] /

Abstract

Massie, Blower, and Campbell (1997) indicate that trucks that operate less than 50 miles from the vehicle's home base comprise 58% of the trucking industry. However, despite being the largest segment, research involving local/short haul (L/SH) operations has been scant. In fact, little is known about the general safety issues in L/SH operations. As a precursor to the present research, Hanowski, Wierwille, Gellatly, Early, and Dingus (1998) conducted a series of focus 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 of an 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 of its kind with L/SH drivers. There are four basic outputs of the Phase II research: (1) a description of the L/SH drivers who participated, (2) a description of critical incidents, (3) a determination if fatigue is an issue in L/SH trucking, and (4) the validation of the fatigue factors cited in Hanowski et al. (1998) using a proposed fatigue model. These four outputs culminate in a set of pragmatic guidelines to address fatigue and other safety issues in L/SH operations. Five guidelines are proposed that are directed at: (1) driver education with regard to on-the-job drowsiness/inattention, (2) driver education with regard to sleep hygiene, (3) driver training, particularly for novice L/SH truck drivers, (4) driver screening, and (5) public monitoring of L/SH driver performance. System requirements: PC, World Wide Web browser and PDF reader. Available electronically via Internet. Title from electronic submission form. Thesis (Ph. D.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 2000. Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references.

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THE IMPACT OF LOCAL/SHORT HAUL OPERATIONS ON DRIVER FATIGUE
Richard Joseph Hanowski
Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
in
Industrial and Systems Engineering
Thomas A. Dingus, Chair
Woodrow Barfield
Brian M. Kleiner
Ronald R. Knipling
Walter W. Wierwille
May 23, 2000
Blacksburg, VA
Keywords: Drowsiness, Inattention, Heavy Vehicle, Commercial Vehicle Operations
Copyright 2000, Richard J. Hanowski

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The Impact of Local/Short Haul Operations on Driver Fatigue
by
Richard Joseph Hanowski
Committee Chairman: Thomas A. Dingus
Industrial and Systems Engineering
ABSTRACT
Massie, Blower, and Campbell (1997) indicate that trucks that operate less than 50 miles
from the vehicle's home base comprise 58% of the trucking industry. However, despite being the
largest segment, research involving local/short haul (L/SH) operations has been scant. In fact,
little is known about the general safety issues in L/SH operations.
As a precursor to the present research, Hanowski, Wierwille, Gellatly, Early, and Dingus
(1998) conducted a series of focus 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 of an 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 of its
kind with L/SH drivers.
The analyses focused on determining if fatigue is an issue in L/SH operations. Of
primary interest were critical incidents (near-crashes) where drivers were judged to be at fault.
The results of the analyses indicated that fatigue was present immediately prior to driver
involvement in at-fault critical incidents. Though it is difficult to determine why fatigue was
present, the results seem to indicate that much of the fatigue that the drivers' experienced was
brought with them to the job, rather than being caused by the job.
There are four basic outputs of the Phase II research: (1) a description of the L/SH drivers
who participated, (2) a description of critical incidents, (3) a determination if fatigue is an issue
in L/SH trucking, and (4) the validation of the fatigue factors cited in Hanowski et al. (1998)
using a proposed fatigue model. These four outputs culminate in a set of pragmatic guidelines to
address fatigue and other safety issues in L/SH operations. Five guidelines are proposed that are
directed at: (1) driver education with regard to on-the-job drowsiness/inattention, (2) driver
education with regard to sleep hygiene, (3) driver training, particularly for novice L/SH truck
drivers, (4) driver screening, and (5) public monitoring of L/SH driver performance.

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FUNDING INFORMATION
This research was funded by the Federal Highway Administration, Office of Motor
Carriers (now the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration) under contract DTFH61-96-C-
00105. 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.

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DEDICATION
This dissertation is dedicated to my parents, Mag and Ed Hanowski. You have always
stressed the importance of education to me and my six brothers and sisters. May this dissertation
serve as memento of the successes achieved by all your children.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to thank Dr. Tom Dingus, my committee chair and friend, for his guidance
and support throughout my graduate career at Virginia Tech and the University of Idaho. Tom
has been a major influence in my academic career and any success that I might enjoy in my
current and future work in human factors will be due, in large part, to Tom's mentoring. A
special thanks goes out to Dr. Walt Wierwille for his encouragement and guidance throughout
this research. Dr. Wierwille was the Principal Investigator on the project and was in daily
contact with me as the work was conducted. I would also like to thank Dr. Ron Knipling, Dr.
Brian Kleiner, Dr. Woody Barfield, and, past committee member, Dr. Andy Gellatly. Their
knowledge of human factors and insight into transportation research have proved invaluable to
this dissertation effort.
I would like to thank Andy 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 and Sheila (Charlie) Garness who helped coordinate the data
collection, reduction, and archiving processes. Thanks also go to Jim York who provided me
with background information on the local/short haul trucking industry. My special thanks go to
the local/short haul companies, as well as the drivers of those companies, who participated in the
field study. These organizations and their drivers were generous with their help. Thanks also go
to the local/short haul drivers who participated in the focus groups of Phase I. These individuals
were conscientious, candid, and professional. Also, I would like to recognize the faculty and
staff of both the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute and the Industrial and Systems
Engineering Department for their help and advice.
I want to thank my family for the love and support they have provided throughout my
educational endeavors. A special thanks to my parents, Mag and Ed Hanowski, who have
always been my biggest supporters; I know that without their love and encouragement, I could
not have achieved this goal. Last, but certainly not least, my deepest gratitude goes to my wife,
Julie Cook, for her unconditional love and support. Without Julie's understanding, patience, and
many sacrifices, this accomplishment would not have been made.