The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is looking for drivers and carriers willing to participate in a study on fatigue and safety performance as it relates to the 34-hour restart break recently suspended by Congress.
This study will measure and analyze the fatigue and safety performance levels of drivers who take two nighttime rest periods during their 34-hour restart break and those drivers who take less than two nighttime rest periods during their restart break.
Drivers will be paid for their participation and carriers may be compensated for lost revenue due to the study and for the cost of installing data collection equipment on their trucks. During the study, participants will drive their normal revenue-producing routes.
The Driver Restart Study will compare data from five months of driver work schedules to assess the following:
- Safety critical events.
- Operator fatigue and level of alertness.
- Driver health.
- The findings will be used to further improve our knowledge of driver fatigue and alertness management.
Study requirements include:
- The study team will monitor driver compliance on a daily basis.
- Participating drivers will be required daily to complete one or more three-minute alertness tests.
- Every driver may be required to maintain sleep/wake logs, record caffeine intake, and report sleepiness during the study.
Drivers will be asked to complete a survey about their experience upon completion of the study.
If you would like more information on the study, please visit the study Web page.
If you would like to participate, please subscribe to our Fatigue Study mailing list. By providing your email address, you agree to be contacted in the future about the Driver Restart Study.
