Improving Heavy-Duty Diesel Truck Ergonomics to Reduce Fatigue and Improve Driver Health and Performance

In this study sponsored by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, noise levels, wholebody vibration from the driver and passenger seats, and the in-cab air quality of heavy-duty diesel trucks were measured while the vehicles were parked with the engine idling at a truck stop rest area and while they were driven over a prescribed route. The air quality was determined by measuring in-cab concentrations of carbon monoxide, oxides of nitrogen, and particulate matter less than 2.5 µm in aerodynamic diameter. These factors were selected because they are suspected to have some influence on the health and performance of drivers. Also the intention was that the data sets will serve as baseline data from which future similar studies may determine if (new) truck designs have changed the existing state of these conditions for the drivers. Twenty-seven trucks from four manufacturers were tested. Model years of the trucks were between 2006 and 2008.
This final report would be of interest to health and wellness professionals: occupational safety
and health management, researchers, and academicians; commercial motor vehicle industry:
drivers, carriers, manufacturers, and truck travel centers.