This is the second report in a series on the development of better work-rest schedules for the long distance road transport industry. This report describes the results of the evaluation of two work-rest schedules. The first is an on-road evaluation of the effectiveness of the current working hours regime for managing driver fatigue and the second was an evaluation of an alternative work-rest schedule that was conducted in a simulation mode because the trips were significantly longer than allowed under the working hours regulations. The on-road regulatory evaluation showed that fatigue increased and performance capacity deteriorated over the period of a trip, and over the period between long 24 hour breaks in the work-rest schedule. The extent of deterioration was not significantly large to be judged as likely to compromise safety on the basis of comparisons with alcohol-equivalent standards of performance decrement. Rather these changes were reflecting early warnings of fatigue and its consequences. In contrast, the alternative compliance simulation showed significant deterioration in fatigue and performance. By the middle to end of the second consecutive 16-hour work period, drivers were showing significantly increased fatigue and performance deterioration that was likely to compromise safety, as judged by a comparison with alcohol-equivalent performance standards. These results suggest that this alternative work-rest schedule would need to be modified by increasing the amount of rest between long work periods before it could be used on the road. (A)
Samenvatting