VTI has participated in a study of fatigue among London bus drivers. The study has given Transport for London the tools to implement measures that deal with fatigue among the city’s bus drivers.
The study was led by the Transport Safety Research Centre at the School of Design and Creative Arts, Loughborough University, and it was carried out in collaboration with Transport for London and researchers at VTI.
The study showed, among other things, that one in five drivers in the study stated that they experienced problems relating to fatigue more than once a week while driving. Photo: Aleksander Sokurenko/Mostphotos
Different methods were used during the project, including discussions with drivers and supervisors, in order to understand fatigue and sleepiness among London city bus drivers. The study was also the first in the world to collect on-road data to monitor fatigue and sleepiness among drivers while the buses were in regular service.
The study showed, among other things, that one in five drivers in the study stated that they experienced problems relating to fatigue more than once a week while driving.
Thanks to the study, Transport for London now has tools to handle fatigue among its drivers, thereby increasing traffic safety. One conclusion drawn by Transport for London is that there is a need for extensive fatigue risk management systems among the companies that operate London buses in the coming year. Transport for London will also ensure that all managers in the bus garages receive training relating to fatigue.
VTI’s part in the study has mainly consisted of carrying out an experimental study to assess bus drivers’ fatigue while driving one of London’s central bus routes. VTI has also helped recommend actions to be taken.
“Thanks to our knowledge about sleepiness in drivers and our previous research, we have been able to contribute to the value that the study has provided to Transport for London and its efforts to prevent accidents caused by sleepiness among drivers,” says Anna Anund, head of research at VTI.
The study is in many respects a follow-up to the study conducted by VTI in Stockholm in 2012.
Read the press release regarding the study on Loughborough University’s website.
Contact:
Anna Anund
anna.anund@vti.se
VTI, Sweden
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