The CANALERT project, a study of Canadian freight train drivers and their working hours, is described. Forty volunteer drivers were known to be on duty for up to eighteen hours (usually 12-16 hours) with up to four hours rest period mid shift. A one day on, one day off shift pattern was worked. There is also a maximum driving mileage per month. The study was undertaken with the removal of the previous blame culture surrounding individuals who had fallen asleep. These drivers were monitored using sleep tracking diaries, 24-h activity monitoring, questionnaires, and human physiology monitoring. New measures tested included rostering to the individual's body clock by restricting return journey start times, training staff and families in the importance of the body clock, improvement of the bunk house facilities, allowing short 30-min naps during excessively long shifts, and allowing drivers to listen to music through headphones. The drivers said they felt fitter after the implementation of the new measures. The relevance of the study to UK rail services is discussed.
Abstract