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09/26/2008 - NTSB Urges Employers, Government to Address Driver Fatigue

In response to a deadly accident on Interstate 94 in Wisconsin, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is calling upon employers and government officials to help prevent fatigue-related accidents. At a recent Washington hearing, the board said that companies should be working harder to make sure that their drivers are getting enough rest. The board also advised employers and the government to study technologies that could be used to help prevent fatigue-related crashes.

During the hearing, NTSB officials reviewed environment-, driver- and vehicle-based measures to help counter driver fatigue. These include rumble strips, rest areas, eyelid closure monitors, lane departure warning systems and steering wheel monitors.

While rumble strips and rest stops are familiar features of our nation’s highways, the other three countermeasures have not been widely tested. The three technologies are still in the early stages of development, which is why the NTSB is calling for further study by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMSCA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

What Happened in Wisconsin?
At approximately 2 a.m. on October 16, 2005, a truck departed the right-hand lane and traveled along the roadside before overturning as it re-entered the highway. The truck was resting on its right side and blocking both westbound lanes when a motorcoach traveling at highway speeds crashed into the overturned truck. The motorcoach driver and four of the 55 passengers were killed; 35 suffered minor to serious injuries.

Driver fatigue was a major factor in the accident. According to the NTSB investigation, the truck driver:
• at most, had slept 12.5 hours in the two days before the accident,
• had slept less than 5 hours during the last sleep period,
• was awake for at least 15 hours before the accident, and
• had consumed alcohol, which reportedly affected the quality of his sleep.

According to NTSB, the motor carrier provided the driver with sufficient downtime between assignments. However, the driver failed to get the necessary rest. The board found both the driver and motor carrier were at fault for not maintaining status-of-duty records. At the time of the accident, the driver had not completed his log book for the previous five days.

Driver Fatigue Prevention and Mitigation
Motor carriers can take a number of steps to help prevent driver fatigue. They should educate their drivers about the dangers of fatigued driving and the impact of alcohol on sleep quality, review their scheduling policies and practices to make sure that drivers have adequate rest periods, and ensure that drivers are screened for sleep disorders and treated as necessary. The NTSB recommended that FMCSA develop ways to assess the effectiveness of motor carriers’ fatigue-management programs.

For a discussion of driver fatigue and other safety-related issues involved in the I-94 accident, see Issue #555 of Foley Services’ DOT Safety Regulation Update Fast-Fax. To view sample issues of Fast-Fax, click HERE.