Surveying the Impact of Work Hours and Schedules on Commercial Motor Vehicle Driver Sleep

Background: Given the long hours on the road involving multiple and interacting work stressors (i.e., delivery pressures, irregular shifts, ergonomic hazards), commercial drivers face a plethora of health and safety risks. Researchers goal was to determine whether and to what extent long-haul trucke...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Adam Hege, Michael Perko, Amber Johnson, Chong Ho Yu, Sevil Sönmez, Yorghos Apostolopoulos
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2015-06-01
Series:Safety and Health at Work
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2093791115000104
Description
Summary:Background: Given the long hours on the road involving multiple and interacting work stressors (i.e., delivery pressures, irregular shifts, ergonomic hazards), commercial drivers face a plethora of health and safety risks. Researchers goal was to determine whether and to what extent long-haul trucker work schedules influence sleep duration and quality. Methods: Survey and biometric data collected from male long-haul truck drivers at a major truckstop in central North Carolina over a six month period. Results: Daily hours worked (mean = 11 hours, 55 minutes) and frequency of working over government-mandated daily HOS regulations (23.8% “frequently or always”) were statistically significant predictors of sleep duration. Miles driven per week (mean = 2,812.61), irregular daily hours worked (63.8%), and frequency of working over the daily hour limit (23.8% “frequently or always”) were statistically significant predictors of sleep quality. Conclusion: Implications of findings suggest a comprehensive review of the regulations and operational conditions for commercial motor vehicle drivers be undertaken.
ISSN:2093-7911