Motorcoach Driver Fatigue Study, 2011

This report describes the work, sleep, and performance of a sample population (N=84) of commercial motorcoach drivers. The drivers were studied individually for approximately a month while pursuing their normal work/rest schedules. The goal was to assess the degree to which active motorcoach drivers push the limits of motorcoach hours-of-service regulations and so expose themselves to non-24-hour work/rest cycles—cycles that would likely restrict sleep and impair performance. Operationally defined for the purposes of this study, non-24-hour work/rest cycles are characterized by duty start times distributed at various times around the 24-hour day. Drivers self-identified as driving for Charter, Tour, Regular Route, or Commuter Express operations. Drivers were, on average, middle-aged, overweight or obese, and predominantly male. With a few exceptions, no evidence was found that the participating motorcoach drivers exposed themselves to non-24-hour work/rest cycles. Duty start times were clustered in the morning, indicating a duty day synchronized to the normal circadian rhythm of awake/work during the day and asleep at night. Average time on duty per duty day was slightly more than 9 hours. Average total daily sleep time, though shorter for on-duty days, was in the recommended range of 7–9 hours for both on-duty and off-duty days. Drivers averaged 40–45 hours on duty per 7 days. There was evidence of a decrease in vigilance test performance and an increase in fatigue and sleepiness at the end as compared to the beginning of the duty day.