Safety Issues in Local/Short Haul Trucking: The Drivers' Perspective

Focus groups were conducted to gain an understanding, from the local/short haul (L/SH) drivers' perspective, of the general safety concerns related to L/SH trucking and, specifically, the degree to which fatigue plays a role. Eleven focus groups were held in eight cities, across five states. Eighty-two L/SH drivers participated. Much of the focus group activity involved discussions of critical incidents that drivers had either learned about or had personally experienced. One of the purposes of this discussion was to generate a list of causal factors that would highlight safety-critical issues in the L/SH industry. Across all sessions, the top five critical issues/causal factors, ranked in terms of importance, were: (1) Problems Caused by Drivers of Light Vehicles, (2) Stress Due to Time Pressure, (3) Inattention, (4) Problems Caused by Roadway/Dock Design, and (5) Fatigue. These findings are being incorporated into the experimental design of a follow-up study where L/SH driving data will be collected in situ.