AAA Foundation research finds driver fatigue to be serious, underreported impairment
WASHINGTON, D.C. According to new research from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, more than one-in-five (21 percent) fatal crashes involve driver fatigue. These results help confirm what safety experts have long suspected: the prevalence of drowsy driving is much greater than official statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) currently indicate. As daylight saving time ends and evening commutes darken, AAA urges drivers to recognize warning signs of driver fatigue and take action to avoid tragedy during this holiday season.
“This new research further confirms that drowsy driving is a serious traffic safety problem,” warned Peter Kissinger, President and CEO of the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. “Unfortunately, drivers often underestimate this risk and overestimate their ability to combat drowsiness behind the wheel.”
The report also found that drowsy driving crashes, a mainstay in recent headlines, are not without consequence. One third of crashes involving a drowsy driver result in injuries and more than 6,000 fatigue-related crashes each year result in at least one fatality.
Previous research from the AAA Foundation revealed that young adult drivers, ages 19-24, are the most likely to admit to driving while drowsy, with 33 percent reporting doing so in the last month. In contrast, the oldest drivers (ages 75+) and the youngest (ages 16-18) were the least likely to report the same offense.
“Despite the fact that 95 percent of Americans deem it ‘unacceptable’ to drive when they are so tired that they have a hard time keeping their eyes open, more than 28 percent admit to doing so in the last month,” continued Kissinger. “Like other impairments, driving while drowsy is not without risk.”
AAA urges drivers to understand the warning signs of drowsy driving:
• The inability to recall the last few miles traveled;
• Having disconnected or wandering thoughts;
• Having difficulty focusing or keeping your eyes open;
• Feeling as though your head is very heavy;
• Drifting out of your driving lane, perhaps driving on the rumble strips;
• Yawning repeatedly;
• Accidentally tailgating other vehicles;
• Missing traffic signs.
When faced with fatigue, AAA urges drivers to find a safe place to pull over if experiencing any of the drowsy driving symptoms. To remain alert and be safer behind the wheel, AAA suggests:
• Get plenty of sleep (at least seven hours), especially the night before a long drive;
• Drive at times when you are normally awake;
• Schedule a break every two hours or every 100 miles;
• Avoid heavy foods;
• Travel with an alert passenger and take turns driving;
• Avoid medications that cause drowsiness or other impairment; and
• Consult with a sleep specialist or other medical professional if you have trouble getting enough rest or are chronically fatigued.
The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety’s Prevalence of Motor Vehicle Crashes Involving Drowsy Drivers report is based on the analysis of a representative sample of 14,268 crashes that occurred in years 2009 – 2013 in which at least one vehicle was towed from the scene.
(Previously published in Transport Topics on Dec.1 , 2014)
By Ward Warkentin
CEO, Fleetmetrica
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration recently announced that is does not expect its final rule mandating logging devices for carriers until September 30, 2015.
While carriers will have two years to be in compliance once the new rule is released, and an additional two years in the case of fleets currently using a 395.15 compliant automatic onboard recording device, many carriers have already been looking at ELD solutions and continue to do so to allow themselves time to test various options and to work out any bugs well in advance of the deadline.
They also see this as an opportunity to use automated reporting on hours of service to strengthen their BASICs score — the rating system of FMCSA’s Compliance, Safety, Accountability program that focuses on Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories.
However, some carriers considering various ELD options may not be aware of the potential benefits the devices could offer in helping improve CSA scores beyond the HOS function. Those benefits can have a positive impact on other BASICs scores — including unsafe driving, vehicle maintenance and crash indications.
Since the new rule requires ELD devices be tethered to the engine to validate the status of the driver’s HOS reporting, it gives fleet owners access to a wealth of other data that, if leveraged properly, can provide valuable insight into driver behavior and the condition of the equipment. For example, some of the metrics that can be drawn from ELDs include over-speeding, harsh braking, and sudden acceleration events — all of which indicate unsafe driving.
Accessing data captured by the engine, along with the hours of service data, gives fleet owners more information on how their drivers and trucks are performing — which can increase the speed of their return on investment in this technology. So aside from tracking HOS compliance, trucking managers can see if their drivers and trucks are safer and if their operations are more efficient.
A case in point is what happened in the United Kingdom, where an electronic-logging mandate has been in place for some time now and most fleet owners opted for a low-cost HOS solution that didn’t include telematics data. This resulted in only a 7% penetration of ELD-based devices that include telematics data compared to more than 35% penetration of electronic on-board recording devices that collect telematics data in the United States in advance of the electronic-logging mandate.
However, U.K. operators have recognized this lost opportunity and many are now choosing to upgrade their technology to include telematics data as they renew their equipment.
While there are benefits from accessing telematics data with ELDs, there are a number of challenges carriers will face in collecting and using this data effectively.
The main challenges include device-related issues with extracting and transmitting data, data quality issues due to abnormalities in the data, and having sufficient IT resources to organize and store the data. Another challenge, especially for larger fleets, is organizing data correctly when drivers shift home terminals or when driver managers are reassigned so that performance metrics are properly accounted for at all levels.
Once data is available, the next hurdle is turning this data into actionable information. This involves making sense of the data and determining how and when to communicate this information to people in the organization who can take action on it.
Here are some tips on using ELD data beyond HOS monitoring and reporting as you invest in this technology:
* Ask ELD suppliers what types of telematics data are accessible through their devices beyond the minimum hours-of-service reporting. Also ask what, if any, services are offered to access this data.
* Whatever method you use for collecting data from your ELD, make sure it’s simple and easy to use and/or follow so that it is readily adopted as a new behavior within the fleet. A good rule of thumb here is that it should be easier than what you are currently doing.
* Look for solutions that engage the driver, since a change in behavior implies involvement from drivers. This can range from in-cab alerts and post-delivery analysis reports to driver training.
* Consider sharing this information with other people in the organization who have a responsibility for safety and who would benefit from the data in their decision making.
* Automate the feedback to drivers and managers as much as possible. The more you can do this, the greater the chance of sustaining this as a new behavior in the company.
* Look for ways to combine the data from ELDs with other safety-related information and practices within your safety program — including safety technologies such as devices that offer in-cab alerts to help prevent forward crashes, lane departure, and maintain rollover stability.
* Also look into using ELD data in combination with other safety documentation efforts within your company for with driver training solutions. For example, BR Williams Trucking, a truckload carrier based in Oxford, Alabama, found that by combining their ELD data monitoring and reporting technology with online driver training, an incentive program for drivers, and well-documented safety policies led to a significant improvement in CSA scores, a 60% drop in net accident costs per mile and a 3.4% improvement in mpg over the past 12 months.
Fleetmetrica is a safety management software company that offers predictive analytics solutions for monitoring fleet safety based in the Toronto area.
