There are approximately 4,000 fatalities in crashes involving trucks and buses in the United States each year. Though estimates are wide-ranging, possibly 10 to 20 percent of these crashes might have involved fatigued drivers. The stresses associated with their particular jobs (irregular schedules, etc.) and the lifestyle that many truck and bus drivers lead, puts them at substantial risk for insufficient sleep and for developing short- and long-term health problems. Commercial Motor Vehicle Driver Fatigue, Long-Term Health and Highway Safety assesses the state of knowledge about the relationship of such factors as hours of driving, hours on duty, and periods of rest to the fatigue experienced by truck and bus drivers while driving and the implications for the safe operation of their vehicles. This report evaluates the relationship of these factors to drivers' health over the longer term, and identifies improvements in data and research methods that can lead to better understanding in both areas.

There are approximately 4,000 fatalities in crashes involving trucks and buses in the United States each year. Though estimates are wide-ranging, possibly 10 to 20 percent of these crashes might have involved fatigued drivers. The stresses associated with their particular jobs (irregular schedules, etc.) and the lifestyle that many truck and bus drivers lead, puts them at substantial risk for insufficient sleep and for developing short- and long-term health problems. Commercial Motor Vehicle Driver Fatigue, Long-Term Health and Highway Safety assesses the state of knowledge about the relationship of such factors as hours of driving, hours on duty, and periods of rest to the fatigue experienced by truck and bus drivers while driving and the implications for the safe operation of their vehicles. This report evaluates the relationship of these factors to drivers' health over the longer term, and identifies improvements in data and research methods that can lead to better understanding in both areas.

Introduction -- The truck and bus industries -- Consequences of fatigue from insufficient sleep -- Hours-of-service regulations -- Current research data and methods: Data sources -- Research methodology and principles: assessing causality -- Current research findings: Fatigue, hours of service, and highway safety -- Fatigue and health and wellness -- Technological countermeasures for and corporate management of fatigue -- Research directions: -- Research directions for fatigue and highway safety -- Research directions for studying the impact of fatigue on commercial motor vehicle drivers' health and wellness -- Glossary -- References -- Appendix: Biographical sketches of panel members and staff -- Committee on National Statistics.

TRB's Commercial Truck and Bus Safety Synthesis Program (CTBSSP) Synthesis 14: The Role of Safety Culture in Preventing Commercial Motor Vehicle Crashes explores practices on developing and enhancing a culture of safety among commercial motor vehicle drivers. The report also examines suggested steps for increasing a safety culture through a series of best practices.

Every year roughly 100,000 fatal and injury crashes occur in the United States involving large trucks and buses. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) in the U.S. Department of Transportation works to reduce crashes, injuries, and fatalities involving large trucks and buses. FMCSA uses information that is collected on the frequency of approximately 900 different violations of safety regulations discovered during (mainly) roadside inspections to assess motor carriers' compliance with Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, as well as to evaluate their compliance in comparison with their peers. Through use of this information, FMCSA's Safety Measurement System (SMS) identifies carriers to receive its available interventions in order to reduce the risk of crashes across all carriers. Improving Motor Carrier Safety Measurement examines the effectiveness of the use of the percentile ranks produced by SMS for identifying high-risk carriers, and if not, what alternatives might be preferred. In addition, this report evaluates the accuracy and sufficiency of the data used by SMS, to assess whether other approaches to identifying unsafe carriers would identify high-risk carriers more effectively, and to reflect on how members of the public use the SMS and what effect making the SMS information public has had on reducing crashes.

"TRB's Commercial Truck and Bus Safety Synthesis Program (CTBSSP) Synthesis 18: Older Commercial Drivers: Do They Pose a Safety Risk? explores age-related changes in the basic functional abilities needed to drive safely. The report is designed to help assist industry and labor practitioners in promoting safer commercial operations."--Publisher's description.

TRB's Commercial Truck and Bus Safety Synthesis Program (CTBSSP) Synthesis 15: Health and Wellness Programs for Commercial Drivers explores health risks facing commercial truck and motorcoach drivers. The report examines the association between crash causation and functional impairments, elements of employee health and wellness programs that could be applied to commercial drivers, and existing trucking and motor coach employee health and wellness programs. In addition, the report includes several case studies on employee health and wellness programs in the truck and motorbus industries, focusing on the elements that appear to work effectively.