Opinion: Techniques, Technologies to Combat Fatigue

By Chandler Magann

Owner

Next Exit Logistics

This Opinion piece appears in the July 14 print edition of Transport Topics. Click here to subscribe today.

Fatigue is a problem. It’s a common one for just about every job imaginable. The consequences of fatigue, however, are far greater for those who operate motor vehicles. You put yourself and the lives of others in danger when you’re drowsy. But let’s face it, if you’re a trucker, you’ve probably driven when you really should not have because you were tired.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, on average from 2005 to 2009, about 83,000 police-reported crashes a year were the result of driver fatigue. Over the five-year period, drowsy driving was cited in 886 fatal crashes, 37,000 injury crashes and 45,000 property damage crashes. Overall, about 1.4% of the 5.9 million crashes a year were attributed to fatigue, according to NHTSA’s 2011 Traffic Safety Facts crash statistics.

So the stakes are high for the trucking industry to keep tabs on fatigue among drivers and institute some strategies and technologies to reduce it.

Several factors contribute to fatigue and drowsiness. Truckers drive during irregular hours — individuals are most drowsy between midnight and 6 a.m. and from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Truckers sleep in irregular patterns — drivers average about two hours less sleep than the ideal amount. And trucking typically results in living an unhealthy lifestyle. Eating fast food and sitting on your butt all day causes fatigue.

But are the hours-of-service rules enough to keep accidents down? Many drivers resent the new regulations and the fines associated with violating them.

How can technology help?

Because we live in an extremely tech-friendly world these days, why not take advantage of it to prevent future accidents? A few innovative solutions and some very well-known ones may become viable options to increase driver safety. Let’s take a look at some of them:

• Smart glasses. Jibo He, a psychologist at Wichita State University, built an app called Glass Fatigue Detector, which tracks a person’s blinking patterns and head rotation to monitor drowsiness. The app will tell the driver to pull over and take a break whenever his or her driving becomes irregular or dangerous. It seems like a simple solution, but the technology is still being developed and perfected. He believes the technology can help reduce accidents and save lives. So do we.

• Smart steering wheels. Yes, some luxury cars already have this feature, but it’s not a uniform capability on all motor vehicles, and it’s quite expensive. However, researchers at Washington State University have come up with a solution that monitors the movements of a car’s steering wheel. After data analysis, their tests concluded that steering-wheel movements and varying lane positions were the two factors that best predicted driver fatigue. The solution they came up with is using inexpensive parts that measure the position of the steering wheel. Installing the parts would be very easy, and it has the potential to save lots of lives.

• Onboard monitoring systems. This new technology is slowly being implemented in a range of trucking fleets. These systems record a driver’s acceleration, speed braking and cornering techniques. Data are gathered and analyzed by the system, often giving real-time feedback showing what the driver could improve upon to increase fuel savings and improve driver safety. This technology has several pros: It boosts productivity, tracks driver hours (good for new HOS regulations), increases fuel savings and lowers crash rates. But this technology also has some drawbacks: It’s pricey, and some drivers view it as an invasion of privacy.

• Speed limiters. Speed limiters can be dangerous themselves, and almost every trucker out there has a strong distaste towards them. Often, you’ll find truckers holding up a line of traffic on two-lane highways as they struggle to pass one another. Meanwhile, drivers are getting frustrated because there is no opportunity to pass. To combat this problem, speed limiters should be able to be overridden for 10 minutes every hour. This gives truckers the opportunity to pass slower truckers and alleviate the potential traffic jams. Not only that, but sometimes a trucker will be in a dangerous situation where the best option is to speed up a little. Unfortunately, trucks with speed limiters do not have this option.

Let’s also look at some common-sense driver safety tips:

• Sleep. If you are feeling drowsy, take a break. We are at our best whenever we sleep for eight hours.

• Eat healthy foods. Eating at irregular times, chowing down fast food and not exercising can lead to drowsiness. Learn how to be a healthy trucker.

• Avoid medication that makes you drowsy. This is self-explanatory. Stay away from medication unless you plan on taking a long break or go to sleep.

• Be conscious of drowsiness. If you are feeling tired or sleepy, be aware. If the feeling continues for a prolonged period, pull over and take a break. Research has shown that being awake for 18 hours is comparable to having a blood alcohol content of 0.08%, which is a level considered to be legally intoxicated.

• Don’t rely on alertness methods to wake you up. Screaming or slapping yourself won’t keep you up. Sure, it may help, but five seconds later, you’ll feel just as tired. Don’t let an alertness method give you a false sense of security.

• Cautiously drink coffee. Caffeine is a good way to keep you awake, but you should always be conscious of how much you’re drinking. If you drink too much, caffeine can cause insomnia, irritability, restlessness and several other health problems.

Next Exit Logistics is a heavy-haul trucking company, specializing in unusual shipments.