Unravelling the Complexity of Irregular Shiftwork, Fatigue and Sleep Health for Commercial Drivers and the Associated Implications for Roadway Safety

Jessica Erin Mabry (), Matthew Camden, Andrew Miller, Abhijit Sarkar, Aditi Manke, Christiana Ridgeway, Hardianto Iridiastadi, Tarah Crowder, Mouyid Islam, Susan Soccolich and Richard J. Hanowski
Additional contact information
Jessica Erin Mabry: Division of Freight, Transit, and Heavy Vehicle Safety, Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
Matthew Camden: Division of Freight, Transit, and Heavy Vehicle Safety, Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
Andrew Miller: Division of Freight, Transit, and Heavy Vehicle Safety, Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
Abhijit Sarkar: Division of Freight, Transit, and Heavy Vehicle Safety, Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
Aditi Manke: Division of Freight, Transit, and Heavy Vehicle Safety, Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
Christiana Ridgeway: Division of Freight, Transit, and Heavy Vehicle Safety, Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
Hardianto Iridiastadi: Division of Freight, Transit, and Heavy Vehicle Safety, Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
Tarah Crowder: Division of Freight, Transit, and Heavy Vehicle Safety, Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
Mouyid Islam: Division of Freight, Transit, and Heavy Vehicle Safety, Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
Susan Soccolich: Division of Freight, Transit, and Heavy Vehicle Safety, Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
Richard J. Hanowski: Division of Freight, Transit, and Heavy Vehicle Safety, Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 22, 1-12

Abstract: Fatigue can be a significant problem for commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers. The lifestyle of a long-haul CMV driver may include long and irregular work hours, inconsistent sleep schedules, poor eating and exercise habits, and mental and physical stress, all contributors to fatigue. Shiftwork is associated with lacking, restricted, and poor-quality sleep and variations in circadian rhythms, all shown to negatively affect driving performance through impaired in judgment and coordination, longer reaction times, and cognitive impairment. Overweight and obesity may be as high as 90% in CMV drivers, and are associated with prevalent comorbidities, including obstructive sleep apnea, hypertension, and cardiovascular and metabolic disorders. As cognitive and motor processing declines with fatigue, driver performance decreases, and the risk of errors, near crashes, and crashes increases. Tools and assessments to determine and quantify the nature, severity, and impact of fatigue and sleep disorders across a variety of environments and populations have been developed and should be critically examined before being employed with CMV drivers. Strategies to mitigate fatigue in CMV operations include addressing the numerous personal, health, and work factors contributing to fatigue and sleepiness. Further research is needed across these areas to better understand implications for roadway safety.

Keywords: fatigue; sleep; safety (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/22/14780/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/22/14780/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:22:p:14780-:d:968516

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().