An evaluation of driver training as a fatigue countermeasure

Abstract Fatigue management education for drivers is often advocated but evaluations of its effectiveness are seldom published. As part of a comprehensive fatigue management approach, driver education programmes were developed and implemented for light vehicle drivers working for a major oil company, and heavy vehicle drivers working for its distribution contractors and other companies in New Zealand. Three different assessments of the effectiveness of training were undertaken. An anonymous quiz was administered to 275 heavy vehicle drivers before and after a 2-h live fatigue management training session, to assess immediate knowledge transfer. There was a significant improvement in the median score from 9/16 to 14/16. A follow-up survey was mailed to all tanker drivers working for the petroleum distribution contractors 1–26 months after training (74% response rate). Most tanker drivers (82%) answered correctly on at least 12/14 true/false questions about fatigue and countermeasures. Seventy-five percent thought that fatigue management training was at least moderately useful, 47% had changed their strategies at home, and 49% had changed their strategies at work. A follow-up survey was also distributed at least one month after initial training to 350 light vehicle drivers (54% response rate). The majority (70%) answered correctly on at least 11/13 true/false questions about fatigue and countermeasures. Ninety-one percent thought that fatigue management training was at least moderately useful, 50% had changed strategies at home, and 43% had changed strategies at work. These findings suggest that immediate knowledge gains at the time of training were largely retained, a significant proportion of drivers had implemented at least some of the strategies suggested, and the majority perceived at least some benefit from fatigue management training. We conclude that fatigue management education is useful for developing a fatigue management culture within an organization.

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