Tag Archives: driver fatigue

Driver Fatigue

Drowsy driving is one of many driving hazards which renders drivers less capable of responding appropriately to prevent a crash. Distracted, drugged, and drunk driving likewise cause preventable tragedies.

Article on Vehicle Technology to Detect Microsleep in a Driver: Sleepy Behind the Wheel? Some Cars Can Tell, By ERIC A. TAUB MARCH 16, 2017, NY Times

Drowsiness Alert This feature may alert you if you’re drowsy and suggest you take a break when it’s safe to do so.MyCarDoesWhat.com

Read this January 2017 article on DISTRACTED DRIVING: The Unimaginable Grief of Distracted Driving Deaths How road safety advocates are tackling a public health problem head on.

October 31, 2016, Update on ELDs: ELD mandate survives court challenge “A federal mandate requiring nearly all U.S. truck operators to use electronic logging devices to track duty status has been upheld in court, meaning the December 18, 2017, compliance date remains effective.” I still am hoping to get a Tired Trucker Roundtable organized because ELDs are only a part of the solution.

UPDATE on Electronic Logging Devices: In lawsuit Court date set for ELD lawsuit The federal court overseeing the lawsuit challenging the U.S. DOT’s electronic logging device mandate has scheduled oral arguments for the case to be heard in court on Sept. 13, where the owner-operator plaintiffs in the case hope to convince the court to strike down the U.S. DOT’s ELD mandate. The DOT, meanwhile, hopes to convince the court to uphold its mandate.

UPDATE, May 21, 2016: I propose a Tired Trucker Roundtable to more comprehensively address driver fatigue crashes.

UPDATE August 3, 2016: Tired Trucker Roundtable: If we plan it, they will come. Can we pull it off?

After the truck crash which killed AnnaLeah and Mary, we never saw the truck driver’s paper log books and he was not able to tell us why he hit us. We suspect that drowsy driving may well have played a part. But it is a very difficult thing to prove.

I can’t go back and re-do that day and make sure that truck driver is fully alert throughout his entire work day on the road–especially that stretch of I-20 in Georgia near Exit 130. But I can advocate for the widespread public health problem of driver fatigue to be recognized and tackled.

See my ideas here for a Tired Trucker Roundtable (and, as Lou Lombardo has said, it could also impact drowsy driving by any driver on the road): I propose a Tired Trucker Roundtable to more comprehensively address driver fatigue crashes.

Tired Trucker Roundtable

Congress, let DOT do their job to stop tired truckers. Make saving lives the priority and not saving corporate dollars. See what DOT Secretary Foxx says about trucker Hours of Service: Why We Care About Truck Driver Fatigue.

More than 20,000 people are calling for Vision Zero. That means that the people want this country to make SAVING LIVES The Priority: Save Lives Not Dollars: Urge DOT to Adopt a Vision Zero Policy

For that matter, any form of Distracted or Impaired Driving needs to be addressed in a comprehensive way in this nation (and, of course, globally): Do it, President Obama, for We the People of this United States of America! #VisionZero.

Update, February 10, 2016:   NTSB Finds Fatigue, High-Risk Motor Carrier Led to Fatal 2014 Multi-Vehicle Collision

Update, December 10, 2015, The Electronic Logging Device Rule is now final. Read more here: https://annaleahmary.com/2015/12/fmcsa-finally-releases-the-electronic-logging-devices-rule-to-track-trucker-hours/

December 14, 2015: Gadget to stop Drivers Nodding Off at the Wheel Could Become Compulsory in new European regulations.  My goodness, if this can be done & would Save Lives, why would we NOT do it, America?! http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/12048267/Gadget-to-stop-drivers-nodding-off-at-the-wheel-could-become-compulsory.html

DWF = Driving While Fatigued (or Drowsy Driving)

Driver fatigue can affect any driver–you included, or the driver of a vehicle in which you are a passenger.

“…Driving while fatigued is comparable to driving drunk, only there is not the same social stigma attached. Like alcohol, fatigue affects our ability to drive by slowing reaction time, decreasing awareness and impairing judgment. Driving while sleep impaired is a significant issue, and is no longer tolerated. Legislation {in Canada} is beginning to change by handling collisions cause by a fatigued driver as seriously as alcohol-impaired crashes.” https://canadasafetycouncil.org/safety-canada-online/article/driver-fatigue-falling-asleep-wheel

Interesting facts about sleephttp://www.vox.com/2015/2/10/8008005/sleep-facts

and about Drowsy Driving:  http://drowsydriving.org/about/facts-and-stats/

IMG_4462

This is our crash, which may have been caused by a drowsy truck driver–killing AnnaLeah (17) and Mary (13).

Fatigue is an ongoing problem among truck drivers. There are many factors, some of them beyond a driver’s control, which contribute to fatigue. Unfortunately, their fatigue too often contributes to a greater likelihood of a crash.

Currently, there are inadequate means to 1) prevent truck drivers from driving fatigued and 2) prove that it was a causal factor when accidents occur.

See posts on this website regarding driver fatigue:  https://annaleahmary.com/tag/driver-fatigue/

Driver Fatigue in Relationship to Driver Pay: http://www.fullyloaded.com.au/industry-news/1009/truck-drivers-pushed-to-the-limit

On Driver Fatigue from Brake Road Safety in the UK:  http://www.brake.org.uk/wake-up/15-facts-a-resources/facts/485-driver-tiredness

See posts on this website regarding electronic logging devices:  https://annaleahmary.com/tag/electronic-logging-devices/

How drowsy driving affected one family:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/vbipLMqmp1c
Check out these links for more information related to driver fatigue:

Truck Safety Coalition on fatigue: http://trucksafety.org/category/trucksafety-issues/fatigue-category/

How to fill out Trucker Log Books: http://www.thetruckersreport.com/how-to-fill-out-a-truck-driver-log-book/

Electronic Logging Devices have been mandated by legislation and the DOT rule which requires them has passed an important milestone. Here is a summary of its progress:

 “So, to break down the EOBR / ELD mandate process so far:

The road to the ELD mandate began when Congress passed MAP-21 in June 2012.

The president signed MAP-21 shortly thereafter, requiring the FMCSA to write a rule requiring use of electronic logging devices, or EOBRs, for all drivers that keep a Record Of Duty Status—about 3.1 million trucks and 3.4 million drivers today.

The FMCSA developed a Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (SNPRM) that was sent to the Office of the Secretary, who approved it and sent it back to the FMCSA in July 2013.

From there, the rule moved over to OMB, where it cleared today, March 12, 2014.

The FMCSA will keep the rule for the next two weeks, eventually publishing the SNPRM for public comment.

A comment period will then take place, published as 60 days, giving anyone a chance to add their feedback.

The FMCSA will take those public comments and revise the rule, a process that can take between six and nine months.

According to these time frames, we can estimate a final rule to be published in the first calendar quarter of 2015.

Based on MAP-21 requirements, fleets will have two years to comply with these rules—meaning you will be required to implement an EOBR for an Electronic Logging Device by January 2017 at the latest.”

Taken from: http://eobr.com/eobr-news/eobr-mandate/eld-mandate-clears-omb/#more-849

We are thankful for the progress which DOT has made thus far with the Electronic Logging Device rule. However, we don’t want the process to drag out any longer than necessary. Lives are at stake!

Here is a link to make public comment on Electronic Logging Devices:  https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2014/03/28/2014-05827/electronic-logging-devices-and-hours-of-service-supporting-documents

Watch these short informative videos on Electronic Logging Devices: http://trucksafety.org/watch-informative-videos-electronic-logging-devices/

Truck Safety Coalition on Electronic Logging Devices: http://trucksafety.org/category/trucksafety-issues/electronic-logging-devices/

Driver Fatigue Monitoring: http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-22640279

 

Trucker Slow-Roll Protest Raises Awareness of Controversy Over How to End Truck Driver Fatigue Tragedies

There is ongoing and complicated controversy over how to prevent Truck Driver Fatigue. It involves how they are kept accountable for their time on the road (the paper logbook was converted to Electronic Log Books in December 2017), as well as the details of Hours Of Service (HOS) requirements. But the bottomline is how truck drivers get compensated.
Some truck drivers have taken the matter into their own hands to raise awareness of the problem and staged a “Slow-Roll Protest” in Indiana on February 21, 2019. Read about it here: Truckers ‘slow roll’ in Indiana protest
 
This is why I hope to realize my goal of organizing a Tired Trucker Roundtable — to catalyze collaborative conversation and action in order to end the ongoing tug-of-war over these regulations (or lack thereof). 
 

“Sleepy Behind the Wheel? Some Cars Can Tell”

Nvidia, chip supplier to Audi, Mercedes, Tesla and others, is developing the Co-Pilot, an artificial-intelligence tool that can learn the behaviors of individual drivers and determine when they are operating outside their norms.

The system will eventually learn a driver’s standard posture, head position, eye-blink rate, facial expression and steering style, among other indexes. Based on a vehicle’s capabilities, the driver will be warned or automatically driven to a safe spot when conditions warrant.

Until vehicles can drive themselves, it will be up to drivers to pull over once they feel drowsy. But drivers tend to make excuses, believing there is no danger because they are just a few minutes from home, or they are not really as tired as they may feel.

“The more tired you are, the less able you are to change your behavior,” such as by pulling off the road for a short rest, said Mikael Ljung Aust, a technical specialist working on drowsiness mitigation technologies at Volvo’s Safety Center in Gothenburg, Sweden.

See more here at this article on Vehicle Technology to Detect Microsleep in a Driver: Sleepy Behind the Wheel? Some Cars Can Tell, By

Sounds like a good technology to discuss at our Tired Trucker Roundtable.

NYC Taxis–“Proposed Driver Fatigue Prevention rules – bringing our Vision Zero goals closer to reality”

The NYC’s Taxi & Limousine Commission proposed rules regarding taxi driver fatigue focus primarily on controlling the hours of service for taxi drivers — much like the trucking HOS. That is all well and good, but I hope to organize a Tired Trucker Roundtable which will take a more comprehensive look at solving the widespread and deadly problem of driver fatigue.

TLC’s Proposed Driver Fatigue Prevention rules – bringing our Vision Zero goals closer to reality

NEW YORK CITY TAXI AND LIMOUSINE COMMISSION Notice of Public Hearing and Opportunity to Comment on Proposed Rules What are we proposing? The Taxi and Limousine Commission is considering changing rules that address the risks of fatigued driving and adding trip reporting requirements for for-hire vehicle bases. When and where is the Hearing? The Commission will hold a public hearing on the proposed rule. The public hearing will take place at 10:00 a.m. on January 5, 2017. The hearing will be in the hearing room at 33 Beaver Street – 19th Floor, New York, NY 10004.

creative-solutionsTired Trucker Roundtable

Congressional Action Could Decimate Trucker HOS rules; What will end this tug-of-war?

December 6, 2016, Press Release from Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety and the Truck Safety Coalition of truck safety advocate organizations:

Washington, D.C. – Tonight, the text of the FY 2017 Continuing Resolution (Rules Committee Print 114-70) was released revealing that the Obama truck driver hours of service (HOS) rule will be decimated with the removal of the two safety provisions, a two-consecutive night off requirement and a one-week limitation on the use of the 34-hour restart. 

The saga continues. And, it is my opinion that a resolution to this endless tug-of-war over trucker hours of service will only come through a more comprehensive strategy to deal with the underlying issues which lead to truck driver fatigue.

In fact, I am working with others to organize a Tired Trucker Roundtable, with the same goal which led us to organize the Underride Roundtable: to bring together in one room all those who are impacted by this issue and those who could do something about it.

Tired Trucker Roundtable: If we plan it, they will come. Can we pull it off?

Tired Trucker Roundtable

The press release continues:

Safety groups responded to this news:

Jackie Gillan, president of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety (Advocates), said, “In a major assault on the safety of families and truck drivers across the country, the House and Senate Republican leaders just delivered special trucking interests an early Christmas present. Language inserted in the year-end government funding bill repeals key safety features of the Obama Administration’s truck driver hours of service rule intended to combat truck driver fatigue.  The Obama rule requires that after a grueling week of 75 or more work hours, truck drivers, who take only the minimum 34-hours off duty between work weeks, must get two consecutive nights of rest during the 34-hour off duty period.  Studies show that nighttime sleep is much more restful than attempts to sleep during daytime. Special interests succeeded in getting this rollback despite the growing problem of truck driver fatigue in the industry, unabated increases in truck crash deaths and injuries, and overwhelming public opposition. 

However, none of this mattered to trucking interests and their friends on the House and Senate Appropriations Committee.  This attack on safety comes at a critical time.  Last year, 4,067 people were needlessly killed in crashes involving large trucks, representing an increase of 4 percent from the previous year and a 20 percent increase from 2009.  This is the first time truck crash deaths have exceeded 4,000 since 2008.  Further, preliminary 2015 federal government data shows 116,000 people were injured in crashes involving large trucks — an increase of 57 percent since 2009.  The annual cost to society from crashes involving commercial motor vehicles is estimated to be over $110 billion.

It is simply unthinkable that any industry with such an abysmal safety record and responsible for so many innocent deaths and injuries could actually find so many willing partners in Congress to push their greedy anti-safety agenda.” 

Joan Claybrook, Chair of Citizens for Reliable and Safe Highways (CRASH) and former Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, stated, “This action to rip out essential safety protections for hard-working truck drivers who deserve a weekend off for adequate rest and recovery time is yet another example of the grip that corporate trucking interests have on some Members of Congress.  The American public is scared of sharing the road with exhausted and overworked drivers behind the wheel of a big rig and with good reason.  In fatal crashes involving a large truck and a passenger car, 98% of the deaths are the occupants of the car.  The House and Senate Appropriations Committees have held more than 100 congressional hearings this year.  However, the Republican Committee leaders never allowed a single hearing on this important issue. Instead, the repeal of the truck safety provisions was secretly attached to a must pass spending bill because they knew it wouldn’t pass muster.  This action will literally have life and death consequences for truck drivers and all motorists sharing the roads with them.  This ‘tired trucker’ provision has no place in this bill and Congress has no business coddling trucking interests using a backdoor legislative maneuver to circumvent public debate and conceal safety impacts.”

Daphne Izer, Founder of Parents Against Tired Truckers (P.A.T.T.), responded, “Once again, our lawmakers caved to special interests and put everyone who travels our roads at risk by including the “tired trucker” provision in the Continuing Resolution. As a mother who began advocating to make trucking safer after my son Jeff was killed by a truck driver who fell asleep while driving, I am devastated that language to increase the number of hours that truck drivers can drive and work was included in a must-pass bill. This rollback of the Hours of Service rules will do nothing to address the issue of driver fatigue and will certainly not reduce the number of fatigue related crashes. It does, however, show a disregard for the nearly 100,000 people who have been killed in truck crashes since I began working to make trucking safer, and the families like mine who are left to cope with the grief that decisions like these cause.”

Lou Lombardo, Care for Crash Victims, provides this tool:

An information resource is the map of all Congressional Districts (114th Congress) with a tally of a decade of vehicle violence deaths in each district over the past decade.  Available to the public at https://www.arcgis.com/home/webmap/viewer.html?webmap=e21e612d64654d75943f85a1a6035472

More on deadly drowsy driving:

 

CBS News Reports on AAA study: “Risks of Drowsy Driving Comparable to Drunk Driving”

CBS News reported this morning on AAA research which studied the dangers of drowsy driving:

New research shows how deadly it can be to drive when you’re tired. The AAA study found drivers who miss two to three hours of sleep a day more than quadruple their risk of getting in a crash, compared to drivers who sleep for seven hours.

According to federal regulators, the accident risk from drowsy driving is comparable to driving drunk. AAA is now urging people to make sure drivers are as alert as possible. One-third of drivers report hitting the roads when they have a hard time keeping their eyes open, which is proving to be deadly, reports CBS News correspondent Errol Barnett.

Videos show how quickly a drowsy driver can lose control. Read more hereAAA study finds risks of drowsy driving comparable to drunk driving

See more on this deadly issue at our webpage on DRIVER FATIGUE (https://annaleahmary.com/driver-fatigue/):

“Gadget to stop Drivers Nodding Off at the Wheel Could Become Compulsory in new European regulations. My goodness, if this can be done & would Save Lives, why would we NOT do it, America?! http://www.telegraph.co.uk/…/Gadget-to-stop-drivers-nodding…

DWF = Driving While Fatigued (or Drowsy Driving)

Driver fatigue can affect any driver–you included, or the driver of a vehicle in which you are a passenger.

“…Driving while fatigued is comparable to driving drunk, only there is not the same social stigma attached. Like alcohol, fatigue affects our ability to drive by slowing reaction time, decreasing awareness and impairing judgment. Driving while sleep impaired is a significant issue, and is no longer tolerated. Legislation {in Canada} is beginning to change by handling collisions cause by a fatigued driver as seriously as alcohol-impaired crashes.” https://canadasafetycouncil.org/…/driver-fatigue-falling-as…

Irreversible tragedies

Tired Trucker Roundtable: If we plan it, they will come. Can we pull it off?

Tug-of-War Continues: Letter to U.S. DOT Sec. Foxx on “Tired Trucker” provision in gov’t spending bill

Yet another example of the tug-of-war over truck driver Hours of Service and one of the many reasons why I want to organize a Tired Trucker Roundtable. . .
And why Vision Zero Rulemaking is so necessary!!!!
Safety advocates sent a letter to Secretary Foxx today:
Hang in there. I’ve found some people who are eager to help me organize the Tired Trucker Roundtable.  We hope to tackle this problem by bringing many interested parties together around the table to discuss and work toward resolution of this life & death problem.
Tired Trucker Roundtable

Good news: Electronic Logging Devices Mandate Has Survived Court Challenge; Required by 12/2017

Good news! One of our original AnnaLeah & Mary Stand Up For Truck Safety Petition requests has been upheld in court to be required by December 2017. Electronic Logging Devices to monitor truck driver hours on the road instead of paper log books:

ELD mandate survives court challenge

Now, I hope that the Hours of Service rules will be finalized with truck driver input as to the best way of structuring them. And I hope that there will continue to be work done to eliminate the reasons that paper log books didn’t work to begin with. Because this important technology will not solve everything.

https://annaleahmary.com/2014/05/paper-log-books/

https://annaleahmary.com/tag/truck-driver-compensation/

Tired Trucker Roundtable

 

NHTSA asking for Comments on guideline to address growing problem of distracted & drowsy driving

I just received a notification that NHTSA is asking for Public Comments on a new guideline which they have developed for states to address the growing problem of distracted and drowsy driving. This follows recent news about the number of crash deaths so far in 2016 which has increased from the crash deaths in 2015 which increased from the crash deaths in 2013  — which included my two youngest daughters, AnnaLeah (17) and Mary (13).

NHTSA has developed a new guideline on distracted and drowsy driving, No. 9, to address these growing problems. This new guideline will help States develop plans to address distracted and drowsy driving. In 2014, ten percent of fatal crashes, 18 percent of injury crashes, and 16 percent of all police-reported motor vehicle traffic crashes were reported as distraction-affected crashes. These proportions have remained stable over the past five years of reported data. In 2014, there were 3,179 people killed and an estimated additional 431,000 injured in motor vehicle crashes involving distraction-affected drivers. Ten percent of all drivers 15 to 19 years old involved in fatal crashes were reported as distracted at the time of the crashes. This age group has the largest proportion of drivers killed in the age range who were distracted at the time of the crashes. Lastly, in 2014, there were 520 non-occupants, such as pedestrians and bicyclists, killed in distraction-affected crashes. (1) The limitations of these data are described in an April 2016 Traffic Safety Facts Research Note (DOT HS 812 260). (2)

Current estimates range from 2 percent to 20 percent of annual traffic deaths attributable to driver drowsiness. According to NHTSA, annually on average from 2009 to 2013, there were over 72,000 police-reported crashes involving drowsy drivers, injuring more than an estimated 41,000 people, and killing more than 800. (3) By using a multiple imputation methodology, the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety estimated that 7 percent of all crashes and 16.5 percent of fatal crashes involved a drowsy driver. (4) This estimate suggests that more than 5,000 people died in drowsy-driving-related motor vehicle crashes across the United States last year. Research conducted in 2012 by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety showed drivers ages 16-24 were the most likely to report having fallen asleep while driving within the past year. (5) Finally, the AAA Foundation’s 2015 Traffic Safety Index reported that nearly all drivers (97.0%) view drowsy driving as a serious threat to their safety and a completely unacceptable behavior; however, nearly 1 in 3 (31.5%) admitted to driving when they were so tired that they had a hard time keeping their eyes open at some point in the past month. (6)

It is important that States begin to address the problems of distracted and drowsy driving. This guideline is designed to help policymakers with decisions about how best to address these growing issues.

READ MORE HERE:  Amendments to Highway Safety Program Guidelines

Irreversible tragedies

Please comment here by September 22, 2016: Amendments to Highway Safety Program Guidelines

DWF = Driving While Fatigued (or Drowsy Driving)

Driver fatigue can affect any driver–you included, or the driver of a vehicle in which you are a passenger.

“…Driving while fatigued is comparable to driving drunk, only there is not the same social stigma attached. Like alcohol, fatigue affects our ability to drive by slowing reaction time, decreasing awareness and impairing judgment. Driving while sleep impaired is a significant issue, and is no longer tolerated. Legislation {in Canada} is beginning to change by handling collisions cause by a fatigued driver as seriously as alcohol-impaired crashes.” https://canadasafetycouncil.org/safety-canada-online/article/driver-fatigue-falling-asleep-wheel

Posts on this topic:

Our truck crash may have involved a tired trucker: https://annaleahmary.com/2014/07/our-crash-was-not-an-accident/

Tired Trucker Roundtable

https://annaleahmary.com/2016/08/tired-trucker-roundtable-if-we-plan-it-they-will-come-can-we-pull-it-off/

A National Traffic Safety Ombudsman could help to facilitate a nationwide network of Traffic Safety/Vision Zero Community Action/Advocacy Groups to get citizens involved in working to solve this kind of problem, as well as other traffic safety issues.

One Trucker Team’s Ideas For Needed Changes To Make Trucking Safer

Jeff and Linda Halling, a husband/wife independent owner-operator team, recently made some comments on a facebook page about what they think needs to be done to make trucking safer:

While we totally agree with the dangers increasing with trucks putting even more regulations is not the answer. There are more rules and regulations in the trucking industry then there are in the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Micromanaging every move never works. Here is the list of changes that we feel need to be made:

1) Better training for new entrants into the industry. Way too many of the mega carriers give their new drivers two weeks classroom one week driving and turn them loose on their own. Part of the problem is that the government classifies us as unskilled labor. Really!!?? A heavy equipment operator is considered skilled labor but a person driving at 80 thousand pound rig is not. Bullshit! By reclassifying Trucking as a skilled labor will increase training and better pay.

2) The hours of service have to be totally redone. One size does not fit all. 11 hours of driving and 70 hours in 8 days is more than enough. However the 14-hour rule is what causes the most safety problems. A driver starts working at 6 a.m. He goes to make his delivery and sits at the dock for 5 hours waiting to be unloaded. He gets paid nothing for that time. He then drives 45 minutes across town to make his pickup. He sits at that dock for 4 hours waiting to get loaded. He gets nothing for that time. The load he picks up goes 500 miles for delivery the next day. But he can only work for another 4 hours because his 14 hours are up. All the time that he spent at the dock was spent resting. But under the current rules he can only work four more hours before he is required to take a 10-hour break. The rule should be if you are in your sleeper for 4 hours or more you can extend the 14-hour clock.

3) There needs to be much more safe secure adequate parking for us to take a required rest period. A lot of drivers that fall asleep are not doing it because they’re pushing themselves to make a delivery they are doing it because they couldn’t find a place to park. All the electronic gadgetry in the world telling the driver to park does no good unless there is a place to park.

Those are the three main things that Linda and I see that will improve safety. We have also been a firm believer that the answer to this industry is not company drivers but independent owner-operators like us. Pride in ownership means a lot more than driving a truck for somebody that thinks you are nothing more than a number. Owner operators have much more flexibility in their pickups and deliveries than a company driver. They also have much more to lose if they mess up.

The bottom line is you’re right — changes need to be made — but the RIGHT changes need to be made.

Facebook post on which Jeff Halling was commenting:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/494507530713925/permalink/682662138565129/

Talkin together

Let’s all get together and talk about how to make the roads safer.