Fatigue in road, rail and maritime transport Professor Andy Smith Centre for Occupational and Health Psychology Cardiff University

Three surveys of fatigue in shipping, rail and driving Fatigue is a major health and safety issue. It is a risk factor for chronic disease and mortality. It is a risk factor for transport accidents and accidents at work. It is essential to increase fatigue awareness and provide guidance yo prevent and manage fatigue.

Fatigue in Ferry Crew Cross-channel – marine and customer services N=491 Irish Sea N=50 2001 (mainly Irish Sea) N=667

Main findings Hours of work: Periods of duty and rest were within mandatory requirements and guidelines. Additional duties took up an extra hour on top of normal working hours. Nearly half of the respondents felt that their working hours presented a danger either to them or to the ship. This was higher in the marine crew but was also observed in both the Irish Sea data and the 2001 data.

Watch keeping Approximately half of the watch-keepers suffered from fatigue on watch.

Factors causing fatigue The major factors were: job demands; working hours; length of tour of duty; number of crossings; speed of the port turn-around; bad weather; noise and vibration; sleep problems; and extra duties such as the life-boat drill.

Fatigue during and after work All groups reported feeling sleepy and tired at work (at least 2 or 3 times a week). Similarly, all groups reported frequent mental and physical fatigue at the end of the working day.

Symptoms of Fatigue Lethargy, poor quality sleep, tension and loss of concentration were frequent problems for all of the samples. Sleep problems and loss of concentration were higher in the cross channel crews (both marine and customer services). All groups reported that the effects of fatigue increased the longer they were onboard and continued into leave.

Sleep All samples reported difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, and getting up. These effects were biggest in the cross channel crew, followed by the Irish Sea crew, and then the 2001 sample.

Performance and safety Both marine and customer service crew reported more frequent involvement in fatigue-related incidents or accidents. All groups reported that customer service suffers because of fatigue.

Conclusions The present survey confirmed that the crew of the ferries on the cross channel route are exposed to a number of factors which induce fatigue. Levels of reported fatigue and reduced well-being are high. There is also an association between fatigue and reduced operational performance and safety.

Fatigue in Rail Staff

The survey was completed by 1099 rail staff (77. 8% male; mean age 44 The survey was completed by 1099 rail staff (77.8% male; mean age 44.3 years) representing a number of jobs. Missing data was rare (about 2%).

Survey - Fatigue 58.6% reported high levels of fatigue at work. Fatigue was predicted by job type (driver, conductor, and engineer), a poor lifestyle, lack of control/support, high job demands, noise and shift-work. Fatigue was correlated with reduced performance and more health problems.

Diary Studies Fatigue at work largely due to workload Fatigue correlated with slower RT’s Workers often fatigued when they start work – fitness for work needed

TRAIN DRIVERS FALL ASLEEP! Recommendations Action required at all levels – but this needs to be sustainable and evaluated. Use other sources of information: TRAIN DRIVERS FALL ASLEEP! Research – confidential reporting; diary studies; analyses of incidents; simulator studies. Training – Stress and fatigue training is being developed: Education; Disclosure; Problem solving; Self-affirmation

Driver fatigue survey

Mean age 34 years; range 18-74 years Characteristics of the final sample – N=2856 68% female Mean age 34 years; range 18-74 years

Driving behaviour: How often do you have lapses of concentration when driving? How often do you indicate hostility to other drivers? How often do you miss warning signs? How often do you disregard the speed limit on a residential road? Driver fatigue: How often do you have to drive when you are tired? How often do you drive when you have a minor illness like a cold? How often do you have to drive late at night, in the early morning or the post-lunch period? How often do you have to drive for long periods? How often do you have to drive after prolonged work? Risk taking: How frequently do you take risks at work? How frequently do you take risks outside of work? Responses to the above questions made on a 5-point scale: 0= Never; 1= Rarely; 2 = Sometimes; 3= Often; 4 = Very Often

Road traffic accidents: Thinking about the last 12 months, have you been involved in any traffic accidents when you have been the driver resulting in injuries that required medical attention from someone else (e.g. a first aider, GP, nurse or hospital doctor)? Thinking about the last 12 months, have you been involved in any traffic accidents when you have been the driver that have not involved injuries?

Logistic regressions including covariates, driving behaviour, driver fatigue and risk-taking with the combined RTA score as the outcome. OR CIs Significance Driving Behaviour 1.36 1.05, 1.76 p<0.05 Driver Fatigue 1.55 1.18, 2.04 p<0.005 Risk-taking 1.28 1.01, 1.64 p<0.05

Logistic regression examining the combined effects of driving behaviour, driver fatigue and risk-taking (split into quartiles) on the combined RTA score. OR CI Significance No risk factors 1 One risk factor 1.19 0.80, 1.77 p>0.05 Two risk factors 1.57 1.06, 2.34 p<0.05 All three risk factors 2.55 1.70, 3.82 p<0.001

SUMMARY Strengths and limitations of the study • This survey identified poor driving behaviour, driving when fatigued and risk taking as predictors of road traffic accidents. • It controlled for personal and occupational factors. • It used short measuring instruments that can be used in risk assessments. • The results have implications for information campaigns and training. • The survey was cross-sectional which makes it difficult to assess causality.

Conclusions Fatigue is prevalent in all transport sectors Fatigue can be induced by a variety of factors and it is often the combined effects of these factors that is important Fatigue can result in the person falling asleep Fatigue can reduce efficiency and safety Chronic fatigue influences health It is essential to prevent and manage fatigue