3.1 Employer programs
Driver fatigue and distractions are critical issues for commercial drivers. As discussed in the Overview, commercial driver countermeasures, including employer policies and programs to reduce commercial driver fatigue, are not discussed in this guide because they do not fall under SHSO jurisdiction. Shift workers are another employment group at high risk for drowsy driving crashes. Young male drivers with part-time jobs are at especially high risk, as they satisfy two of the three high-risk conditions identified by NHTSA and NCSDR (NHTSA, 1999, p. iii): shift workers; young drivers, especially males; and drivers with the medical conditions of sleep apnea or narcolepsy. "Shift workers" include people who work long or irregular hours or who work at night, including many law enforcement officers (NCHRP, under review, Strategy D6). A recent study documents the dangers for medical interns, who frequently work extended shifts of 24 hours or more. Barger et al. (2005) collected monthly reports from 2,737 interns. Interns were 2.3 times more likely to report a crash and 5.9 times more likely to report a near miss after an extended shift than a shorter shift. Each extended shift in a month increased the monthly risk of a crash during the commute from work by 16 percent. NHTSA and NCSDR have produced a comprehensive workplace education program for shift workers. It includes information on sleep habits in general and drowsy driving in particular. Program material includes a video, posters, brochures for workers and their families, tip cards, a PowerPoint training session, and an administrator's guide (NHTSA and NCSDR, undated). Focus-group discussions with shift workers highlight the difficulties faced by employer programs (Nelson et al., 2001). Most shift workers understood well the risks caused by lack of sleep. Many had crashed or almost crashed after falling asleep at the wheel or had friends who had crashed. But neither their knowledge nor their crash experience changed their sleep habits. They sacrificed sleep for the demands of their work, families and social lives. Use: The number of employers who use the NHTSA/NCSDR program, or any drowsy driving prevention material or program, is not known. Effectiveness: The NHTSA/NCSDR program was tested by more than 20 U.S. companies and was well received by workers and management. It has not been evaluated further (NCHRP, under review, Strategy D3). No other employer drowsy driving program has been evaluated. Costs: Since a comprehensive program is available at no cost, program costs will consist only of material production and employer time for training. Time to implement: An employer program can be implemented within three months. |
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