Effects of driver sleepiness and fatigue on violations among truck drivers in India

Abstract

This study aims at capturing the influence of driver drowsiness on prevalence of traffic violations among long-haul truck drivers. The study is based on a roadside survey of 453 long-haul truck drivers, stopping at eateries and rest locations on highways connected to three Indian cities- Mumbai, Indore and Nagpur. The survey questionnaire was categorized into three sections: driver demographics, work-rest schedules and safety critical driver behavior (violations and lapses) in the last five years. The questions regarding unsafe driving practices like speeding, overtaking were combined to form a single factor ‘violations’ using Principal Component Analysis (PCA). A generalized linear model using negative binomial regression predicted young drivers (aged below 25 years), long working hours, insufficient sleeping hours, driving after mid-night, sleepiness on the wheel and frequent traffic violations as significant contributors of violations among the long-haul truck drivers.

Keywords:

• Fatigue
• sleepiness
• traffic violations
• truck drivers
• India
• negative binomial
• factor analysis

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This research has been made available through the European Union Europe Aid-funded Project “EU-India Research & Innovation Partnership for Efficient and Sustainable Freight Transportation (REINVEST),” Contract Number: R/141842. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of the authors of this paper and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union.