Fatigue in bus, coach and truck transport: Putting science behind driver safety

There has been no EU-wide study of driver fatigue for over 15 years. In 2006 the EU adopted legally binding limits on driving conditions in Europe have changed substantially, and road transport volumes have risen constantly and at a fast pace. The driver’s profession is today more stressful and dangerous than it once was. Fatigue makes it harder for drivers to maintain vigilance, alertness and decision-making capacity in passengers safely to destination.

Consequently, in May 2020, ETF started an eighteen-month EU-funded project on driver fatigue. wmp consult has been selected as the external scientific expert, bringing existing national studies and academic work together with new evidence from a large online-survey of bus/coach and truck drivers that is carried out by wmp. The aim of the project is to develop a science-based case for tackling driver fatigue in bus, coach and road freight transport. Evidence collected during the project, including drivers’ statements, will help us develop a toolkit on driver fatigue for our member organisations. Raising awareness concerning driver fatigue with policy makers and our union members is the project’s ultimate goal.