Navigating the Highways: The Perils of Truck Driver Fatigue During Peak Shipping Season

As the summer season heats up across the country, so does the freight industry. This is a time of year when retailers along with transportation and logistics companies ramp up business. One industry is placing freight orders for inventory to meet back-to-school and even holiday shopping demands, while the other industry is receiving freight orders and preparing to transport. Long-haul truckers are gearing up for the annual surge in shipping demand, hauling goods from coast to coast. But beneath the rumble of their diesel engines lies a pressing concern: driver fatigue. These road warriors face grueling schedules, battling exhaustion as they navigate highways hauling as much as 80,000 pounds per load.

Commercial truck drivers obviously play a critical role in our economy, but demanding work schedules and long work hours can put them at a higher risk for fatigue, which can lead to catastrophic consequences on the road. As the peak shipping season approaches, trucking companies and their drivers must acknowledge the health and safety risks and explore solutions to prevent, identify, and treat driver fatigue and its causes.

The risks of truck driver fatigue

Because truck drivers often face grueling work schedules, chronic fatigue is considered a common problem. Considering they operate heavy-duty commercial vehicles, driving while drowsy or exhausted can lead to dangerous or even fatal outcomes. Key points companies and their drivers should consider during peak shipping season include:

• Impaired Cognitive Functions: Fatigue diminishes a driver’s cognitive abilities; therefore, a trucker driver’s ability to assess situations and react in a timely and safe manner can be adversely affected when fatigue sets in.
• Increased Accident Risk: The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) conducted the Large Truck Crash Causation Study to determine key causes of serious auto accidents involving large trucks. The study revealed that 13 percent of the commercial truck drivers involved in a crash resulting in a fatality or injury reportedly were fatigued at the time of the accident.¹
• Time of Day: Drowsiness can be more pronounced during times in which the body may naturally lull, such as during the overnight hours.¹ While it is advised that truck drivers avoid driving during periods in which the body may attempt to naturally rest, work schedules and delivery demands can often make that impractical.
• First Hour of Driving: Incidents are highest during the first hour of driving.¹ This is possibly due to sleep inertia, which describes the period of grogginess or heavy drowsiness some people experience shortly after waking up.

Driver fatigue prevention strategies

Addressing truck driver fatigue effectively requires a multifaceted approach. Here are some strategies that companies and drivers can implement:

1. Education and Awareness: Trucking companies should educate drivers about the risks of fatigue and encourage self-awareness. Drivers must recognize the signs and dangers of fatigue. It’s equally important that they take the appropriate action when fatigued. Unfortunately, alertness tricks such as turning up the radio volume or lowering the window(s) may only provide temporary relief. When a driver yawns frequently, struggles to stay focused on the road, or cannot maintain normal vision (e.g., constantly blinking, suffering from blurred vision), it’s time to pull over and rest.
2. Healthy Sleep Habits: Prioritizing rest is crucial. Drivers should create a consistent sleep schedule and comfortable sleep environment on the road. This could include avoiding caffeine close to bedtime, installing blackout curtains, and using noise-canceling earplugs and an eye mask to reduce noise and light distractions.
3. Stress Management: Whether it’s meeting tight delivery deadlines, driving in inclement weather, dealing with road rage, or being separated from family and friends for stretches, a truck driver’s mental health can be constantly challenged. Poor mental health can affect physical health and quality of sleep.² Finding ways to destress is important. Activities such as exercising, eating healthy meals, and picking up relaxing hobbies can help drivers maintain a necessary balance while on the road.

Other strategies a company can implement include a driver support program that offers counseling services to address stress and mental health. A driver support program can also include peer groups for drivers to share experiences and coping strategies.

Hours of service regulations

The FMCSA issued the Hours of Service (HOS) regulations, which limit the number of hours a person can drive a commercial motor vehicle (CMV).³ These regulations aim to help CMV drivers get sufficient rest to reduce fatigue and improve alertness while behind the wheel.

“Limiting the hours of service helps to reduce excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS), which is defined as sleepiness occurring in a situation when an individual would be expected to be awake and alert,” said Anne-Marie Puricelli, MD, JD, Concentra® national medical director of transportation services. “Excessive daytime sleepiness has significant detrimental psychological, social, and functional effects, as well as adverse effects on safety."

Puricelli — who also serves as the Concentra transportation medical expert panel (MEP) chair — further stated that the most common cause of excessive daytime sleepiness is the lack of adequate sleep time. And increases in objective sleepiness and performance lapses are associated with shorter sleep duration.

A summary of the HOS regulations is available on the FMCSA website. Some key revisions include:

Short-haul exception

• Expands the short-haul exception to 150 air miles
• Allows a 14-hour work shift as part of the exception

Adverse driving conditions exception

• Extends the driving window during adverse conditions by up to an additional two hours

30-minute break requirement

• Requires a break of at least 30 consecutive minutes after eight cumulative hours of driving time (instead of on-duty time)
• An on-duty/not driving period can qualify as the required break

Sleeper berth provision

• Allows a driver to meet the 10-hour minimum, off-duty requirement by spending at least seven hours in the berth
• Requires a minimum off-duty period of at least two hours spent inside or outside the berth
• When used together, neither qualifying period counts against the 14-hour driving window

Obstructive sleep apnea 

After detailing the risks of truck driver fatigue, exploring solutions to prevent it, and summarizing FMCSA regulations that aim to mitigate its harmful effects, it’s essential to address one of the leading causes of driver fatigue. This health issue is also a hot topic in the trucking industry when it comes to Department of Transportation (DOT) physical exam results. The condition is obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). 

Obstructive sleep apnea is characterized by breathing interruptions during sleep. Common signs and symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea include:

• Loud snoring
• Gasping or choking while sleeping
• Morning headaches and nausea
• Excessive daytime sleepiness
• Disturbed sleep
• Concentration and memory problems
• Frequent nighttime urination

Other common symptoms include poor memory or concentration, irritability, and even feelings of depression and loss of sex drive/impotence.⁴

While discussing OSA and other sleep disorders may draw the ire of some commercial trucking companies and their drivers, this sleep disorder is pervasive among truck drivers. According to a study conducted by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, nearly 47 percent of truckers are at risk of having sleep apnea.⁵

“Among drivers of passenger cars, there is a clear association between crashes and obstructive sleep apnea,” said Puricelli. “Overall, among individuals with obstructive sleep apnea, the mean crash rate ratio is likely to fall within the range of 1.3 to 5.7. Untreated OSA may lead to decreased cognitive function, psychomotor impairment, and decrements in driving skills that are measured in driving simulators.”⁵

Several risk factors of sleep apnea may attract a clinician’s attention, especially if the driver has complaints of persistent drowsiness while on the job. Sleep apnea risk factors may include:

• A family history of sleep apnea
• Being age 40 or older
• Ethnicity
• Smoking habits
• Alcohol use
• Having a small upper airway
• Being overweight

Even having a large neck size (i.e., 17+ inches for men, 16+ inches for women), receding chin, small jaw, or large overbite can place a driver at a higher risk of suffering from sleep apnea.4

DOT physicals and sleep apnea

In addition to the risk of falling asleep behind the wheel and endangering themselves and other drivers on the road, untreated or undiagnosed sleep apnea can lead to more serious health problems for CMV drivers.6 Concentra is a leading provider of occupational health services, including DOT physicals for employees who must maintain a commercial driver’s license to perform their job. As part of this physical examination, a driver completes a health questionnaire, and based on questionnaire responses and the driver’s overall health status, a Concentra certified medical examiner (CME) may recommend that the driver gets tested for sleep apnea. Screening for OSA and other sleep disorders can help identify at-risk drivers and facilitate timely treatment. If the signs and symptoms of a possible sleep disorder cause the clinician to have concerns over a driver’s overall health and ability to function behind the wheel, FMCSA regulations grant CMEs the discretion to make a judgment call about the medical necessity of a sleep study during the DOT physical. A driver’s willingness to complete a sleep study and comply with any post-study medical recommendations can ultimately determine whether they maintain their DOT certification.

“The FMCSA has instructed medical examiners that if they observe multiple risk factors for moderate-to-severe OSA, they should consider referring the driver for a sleep study if not evaluated previously,” Puricelli explained.

Prioritizing driver safety amid peak shipping season

Truck driver safety shouldn’t be viewed as a seasonal, workforce safety campaign. It’s an investment in safer roads and efficient logistics. By complying with HOS regulations, promoting awareness around driver fatigue, and encouraging preventive health measures such as sleep studies, road safety can be enhanced for truck drivers and the public. In addition, trucking companies can support their hardworking drivers who secure the successful transport of goods during peak shipping seasons.

Sources:

1. CMV driving tips - driver fatigue. (n.d.). FMCSA.
2. Suni, E., and Suni, E. (2024, March 26). Mental health and sleep. Sleep Foundation.
3. Hours of service (HOS). (n.d.). FMCSA.
4. Driving when you have sleep apnea. (n.d.). FMCSA.
5. Glenn, T. L., Mabry, J. E., Soccolich, S. A., and Hickman, J. S. (2020, April 6). Undiagnosed Obstructive sleep apnea in commercial motor vehicle drivers: Application of STOP-Bang.
6. The dangers of uncontrolled sleep apnea. (2022, November 1). Johns Hopkins Medicine.