PREVENTING TRUCK DRIVER FATIGUE AND ACCIDENTS
Research indicates that fatigue can play a major role in accidents, particularly for older drivers and for drivers on the road for 12 hours or more. What causes fatigue? Normal fatigue can be caused by three categories of stress factors:
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Physical environment such as temperature and vibration.
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Physiological factors such as poor or inadequate sleep, drugs and alcohol, or irregular eating habits.
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Psychological factors such as anger, fear, and frustration. Professional drivers are exposed to many of these factors every day.
Below are ten tips to help alleviate potential fatigue brought on by the day-to-day business of truck driving:
1. Proper Nutrition. Eat a well-balanced diet that includes the major food groups-meat, fish, fruits, grains, vegetables, and dairy products.
2. Comfortable Environment. Review your environment, especially your sleeping quarters. Check for noise, poor ventilation, high or low temperatures, and inadequate lighting.
3. Exercise Regularly. If you spend much of the day sitting, plan an exercise program to build your stamina. Poor physical conditioning may be the problem.
4. Reduce Excess Weight. The excess pounds you carry around all day may be responsible for your fatigue. Resolve to lose a certain amount of weight over a set period.
5. Improve Sleep. Insomnia is a common complaint, but it can often be resolved Experiment by sleeping more or less, going to bed earlier or later, to discover proper sleep time.
6. Time Management. Stop running around trying to do too much too soon. Take advantage of time management techniques to gain control over your life.
7. Relax More. Try spending your free time doing something you enjoy such as fishing, golf or camping. These activities and others can ease tension, promote sleep, and reduce emotional stress.
8. Reduce Caffeine. Caffeine is a drug that may over-stimulate the body and mind, interfering with sleep and increasing anxiety. Try cutting back to no more than a couple of cups a day to see if it helps reduce fatigue.
9. Quit Smoking. Nicotine produces an initial stimulation, but is followed by a depressant phase of action. It is a drug that creates dependence and is incompatible with good health. Effects of tobacco smoke have been linked to many of the diseases that cause fatigue.
10. Avoid Alcohol. Alcohol is a drug that depresses
bodily functions, causing fatigue and lethargy. Alcohol disturbs sleep,
especially when taken near bedtime, and causes emotional turmoil that
contributes to fatigue.
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