How Does Driver Fatigue Cause Truck Accidents?

Causes of Truck Driver Fatigue

There are various causes of truck driver fatigue. Obviously, inadequate sleep is the most common, but there are other reasons why a truck driver may experience fatigue.

• Illness. In a traditional job setting, if an employee were to fall ill, they would simply call in sick and stay home. But when you are hundreds or even thousands of miles away, truck drivers may feel no choice but to power through sickness. Further, some drivers may take cold and flu medicine to get through a day’s run, leading to medically induced drowsiness. When the body’s immune system is down, there is a natural need to rest. But when you are on the road for hours at a time with no place to stop, this can lead to trucking accidents.
• Work Schedules. There is no such thing as a 9-to-5 job for truck drivers, making these unusual work schedules more difficult to adjust to a normal sleeping schedule. In a sleep study published on the US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health, truck drivers averaged 5.18 hours in bed per day and 4.78 hours of actual sleep. Not nearly enough for someone to function in an 11 hour day. Further, some drivers feel pressure from the trucking company to perform at a certain level, despite their lack of sleep, in order to maintain schedules.
• Alcohol Use. Under the FMCSA, drivers are forbidden to consume or be under the influence of alcohol within four hours of going on duty or operating a commercial motor vehicle. Yet, many truck drivers admit to drinking in their off time.