The Israeli Defence Force (IDF) Transport Centre is the largest and the most diverse transportation organisation in Israel, three times as large as the largest commercial fleet in Israel, with military bases spread all over the country. It also has the ability to regulate the drivers better, enforcing diet, hours of sleep, and working hours. The drivers are either permanently employed civilians, career service personnel, or mandatory service personnel. This mode of service correlates with age, experience, carrier type, and several job characteristics (e.g. mandatory service drivers typically do not drive at night). The study consisted of a survey of 314 male drivers (30 percent of the entire base driver population). Despite the different environment, the military drivers display many characteristics and coping behaviours characteristic of civilian drivers. Our results cast a doubt on the efficacy of enforcing night sleep and prohibiting night drives as an alternative to regulating hours of service. Our findings also reveal that it is insufficient to provide drivers with the time to sleep: one has to ensure that they also get a good quality of sleep. Implications for reducing fatigue in this environment are suggested. (A)
Abstract