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Collaborating Authors
Results
The Baby Boomer generation is turning gray. And our parents are living longer. The growing population of our country and the world, in combination with advances in medicine, is resulting in continuing increases of our older population. People over the age of 65 will grow to approximately 50,000,000 in the year 2020, accounting for approximately 20% of the entire U. S. population. Our workforce is aging as well. It is inevitable, based upon the changing trends in population. While age presents many benefits, it also presents new or changing risks that must be considered both for the individual and for the company. Just what are the issues associated with the aging driver? Based upon a study prepared by the American Medical Association, there are three primary issues:Vision; Cognition; Motor function. Aside from these issues, recent or acute medical events, as well as psychological considerations, are important. The current body of knowledge indicates that these issues become more pronounced from age 65 onward. A review of accident statistics supports this. Safety for older drivers is a public health issue. Motor vehicle injuries are the leading cause of injury-related deaths among 65- to 74-year olds and are the second leading cause (after falls) among 75- to 84-year olds. Compared with other drivers, older drivers have a higher fatality rate per mile driven than any other age group except drivers under the age of 25. On the basis of estimated annual travel, the fatality rate for drivers 85 and older is 9 time higher that the rate for drivers 25 to 69 years old. There are two reasons for this excess in fatalities. First, drivers 75 years and older are involved in significantly more motor vehicle crashes per mile driven than middle-aged drivers. Second, older drivers are considerably more fragile. Fragility begins to increase at ages 60 to 64 and increases steadily with advancing age. By age 80, male and female drivers are 4 and 3.1 times more likely, respectively, than 20-year olds to die as a result of a motor vehicle crash. As the older population in this country continues to grow, drivers aged 65 and older are expected to account for 16% of all crashes and 25% of all fatal crashes. As drivers age, they may begin to feel limited by slower reaction times, chronic health problems, and side effects from medications. Many reduce their mileage or stop driving altogether because they feel unsafe or lose their confidence. In 1990, males over the age of 70 drove, on average, 8,298 miles, compared to 16,784 miles for males aged 20-24 years; for females, the figures were 3,976 miles and 11,807 miles, respectively. Older drivers not only drive substantially less, but also modify when and how they drive. Older drivers may reduce their mileage by eliminating long highway trips, thus driving mainly on local roads, which often contain more hazards in the form of signs, signals, traffic congestion and confusing intersections.
- Transportation > Ground > Road (1.00)
- Health & Medicine > Therapeutic Area > Psychiatry/Psychology (1.00)
- Health & Medicine > Therapeutic Area > Ophthalmology/Optometry (1.00)
- (7 more...)
Our way of doing business has changed dramatically in the past years thanks to events that have occurred around the world and, most specifically, events that have impacted us here at home. The vision of the terrorist threat within the trucking industry is not uniform. However, there is a general concern: the use of stolen trucks and cargo to carry out a terrorist act. Other perceived threats include the transport of illicit cargo and the use of criminal means (e.g., vandalism) to support terrorist groups. Some commercial trucking companies, as distinct from rental and lease companies, see no terrorist threat at all. This observation is not unexpected, considering that truck industry assets useful in the commission of a terrorist act are readily available through legitimate means and at low cost (i.e., trucks can be easily leased, rented, borrowed, and/or bought on credit). Indeed, the most noted terrorist acts conducted in the United States with trucks involved leased trucks with legally obtained cargo (i.e., the 1993 World Trade Center bombing in New York City and the 1995 bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City). Although there is little uniformity in the perception of the specific threat, the level of general concern is high, as revealed by the security measures implemented after 9/11. These measures include broad-based and significant changes in policies and practices, including issuance of employee identification (ID), measures to guard property, improvement of communications with cell phones and two-way radio, provision of focused training, and significant changes in hiring practices (e.g., more thorough background checks). "Low-cost/no-cost" procedural measures, such as route changes to avoid higher risk areas, parking in more visible areas, vehicle inspections and confirmation of cargo seal integrity after stops, obtaining driver information prior to pick-ups and ID confirmation on arrival, and provision of cargo contents on only a need-to-know basis, were mentioned by some companies. However, these measures may not be currently used to their fullest extent. The greatest security enhancement will probably be achieved when approached on both procedural and technological levels. Many companies plan for implementation of further security improvements. Unlike the procedural measures already implemented, planned measures are largely technology-based devices to track, alert, communicate, and observe. Many, and possibly adequate, technology measures/options exist to meet most needs, with one key problem - cost. While cost is the most commonly expressed problem, there was also a frequent statement of the need for establishment of a uniform federal operator (driver) identification system. The industry research needs identified by the survey respondents are largely addressed in ongoing government and industry programs.
- Transportation > Ground > Road (1.00)
- Law Enforcement & Public Safety > Terrorism (1.00)
- Law (1.00)
- Government > Regional Government > North America Government > United States Government (1.00)
Effective fleet management is difficult to achieve. It not only involves effective management of vehicles, but more importantly effective management of people while driving. Too often, we lose sight of the importance of managing behaviors associated with safe driving and safe vehicle maintenance. In many cases, this results from a lack of knowledge and process to manage behaviors associated with the operation and vehicle fleets or because of competing demands within organizations that are more easily understood and more clearly managed. The variability in fleet management is most clearly understood within the commercial vehicle industry. Whether because of size of operation or lack of effective management skills, effective fleet management varies from poor to excellent, even though these are numerous regulatory requirements which must be met. With growing attention on non-commercial fleets because of cell phone use, operation of vehicles while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and other such reasons, effective fleet management has a growing importance in organizations with non-commercial vehicle fleets as well. In 2001, the American Society of Safety Engineers became the Secretariat of the newly formed ANSI Z15 Committee on Safety Requirements for Motor Vehicle Fleet Operations. This committee was charged with developing standards for safety requirements for motor vehicle fleet operations. This standard is intended to set forth safety requirements for the operation of motor vehicle fleets including but not limited to nomenclature, definition, data gathering, statistical analysis, inspection, maintenance, training, and other related functions of motor vehicle fleet operations. The purpose of the standard is to establish safety requirements that mitigate injury and property losses by enhancing safety performances of those implementing motor vehicle fleet programs. The standard is being developed for voluntary use in occupational settings where personnel may be exposed to hazards associated with motor vehicle fleet operations. The ANSI Z15 standard succeeds the D15 standard developed by the National Safety Counsel in 1976. This standard set forth terminology and procedures for identifying accidents; developing frequency based upon fleet miles; and determining preventability. An extensive glossary of terminology was part of this standard. This standard has been reviewed and modified, and will be incorporated as part of the new ANSI Z15 standard. The ANSI Z15 standard committee is composed of public and private organizations that are stakeholders in effective fleet management. Committee members include the National Safety Counsel, American Association of Fleet Administrators, the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, American Public Transit Association, American Trucking Association, and the United State Marine Corp. to name a few. Currently, 34 organizations are part of the committee. As previously mentioned, ASSE is the Secretariat of this committee. The committee has met four times since its inception. As a result of these meetings, the key elements of the standard have been developed and are in "Draft" status. These elements are:ยฟ Terminology ยฟ Data Collection and Measurement ยฟ Driver Hiring and Training ยฟ Vehicle Maintenance ยฟ Operational Best Practices
- Transportation > Ground > Road (1.00)
- Transportation > Freight & Logistics Services (1.00)
- Automobiles & Trucks (1.00)
- Government > Regional Government > North America Government > United States Government (0.90)
The Trucking Research Institute of the American Trucking Associations (ATA), the Private Fleet Management Institute of the National Private Truck Council (NPTC), Iowa State University, and Daecher & Associates collaborated on a research project to evaluate the role of carrier scheduling practices in truck and motor coach driver fatigue. Funding for and oversight of the study were provided by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). The objective of this project was threefold:to develop a definition or typology of truck driving environments and determine the percentage, of over-the-road drivers that fall within each type of environment, to assess the operational scheduling requirements of truck and motor coach carriers that affect driver fatigue, and to identify truck and motor coach carrier scheduling and related safety practices that influence driver fatigue and driver safety performance. The Commercial Motor Vehicle Driver Fatigue Model The foundation of the project is the Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) Driver Fatigue Model that identifies the various scheduling-related factors that may influence driver fatigue, non scheduling factors that may also have an effect on driver fatigue, and measures of driver fatigue. The three key fatigue-influencing factors included in the model are:CMV Driving Environments -- Regularity of Time, Trip Control, and Quality of Rest Economic Pressures -- Scheduling Demands of Commerce, Carrier Economic Factors, and Driver Economic or Personal Factors Carrier Support for Driving Safety Additionally, the model includes two measures of fatigue and one measure of general safety performance:Frequency of Close Calls Due to Fatigue Driver Perceptions of Fatigue as a Problem Crash Involvement The model was developed after an extensive review of the literature, conducting focus group sessions with personnel from truck and motor coach firms, and company site visits. The literature review revealed that no one study had addressed the wide array of driver fatigue factors included in the CMV Driver Fatigue Model. Also, relatively few studies attempted to empirically determine the importance of the factors that influence CMV driver fatigue, and only a few studies focused on motor coach driver fatigue. Research Design The research design for the project included three separate but related studies and data collection efforts. Nine survey instruments were developed to collect the necessary data. The first study, the "truck stop study," addressed the first objective of the project -- the development of a driver environment typology for over-the-road truck drivers. A survey that focused on the driver environment was distributed to a random sample of 502 truck drivers at five geographically dispersed truck stops. The other two studies tested the CMV Driver Fatigue Model for the truck and motor coach industries, thus identifying the carrier scheduling and related practices that influence driver fatigue in each industry. Four survey instruments were developed to collect the necessary data from four different levels of the carrier organization for each industry (i.e., top management, safety director, dispatchers, and drivers).
- Research Report > New Finding (1.00)
- Questionnaire & Opinion Survey (0.88)
- Transportation > Ground > Road (1.00)
- Government > Regional Government > North America Government > United States Government (0.54)
Effective fleet management is difficult to achieve. It not only involves effective management of vehicles, but more importantly effective management of people while driving. Too often, we lose sight of the importance of managing behaviors associated with safe driving and safe vehicle maintenance. In many cases, this results from a lack of knowledge and process to manage behaviors associated with the operation and vehicle fleets or because of competing demands within organizations that are more easily understood and more clearly managed. The variability in fleet management is most clearly understood within the commercial vehicle industry. Whether because of size of operation or lack of effective management skills, effective fleet management varies from poor to excellent, even though these are numerous regulatory requirements which must be met. With growing attention on non-commercial fleets because of cell phone use, operation of vehicles while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and other such reasons, effective fleet management has a growing importance in organizations with non-commercial vehicle fleets as well. In 2001, the American Society of Safety Engineers became the Secretariat of the newly formed ANSI Z15 Committee on Safety Requirements for Motor Vehicle Fleet Operations. This committee was charged with developing standards for safety requirements for motor vehicle fleet operations. This standard is intended to set forth safety requirements for the operation of motor vehicle fleets including but not limited to nomenclature, definition, data gathering, statistical analysis, inspection, maintenance, training, and other related functions of motor vehicle fleet operations. The purpose of the standard is to establish safety requirements that mitigate injury and property losses by enhancing safety performances of those implementing motor vehicle fleet programs. The standard is being developed for voluntary use in occupational settings where personnel may be exposed to hazards associated with motor vehicle fleet operations. The ANSI Z15 standard succeeds the D15 standard developed by the National Safety Council in 1976. This standard set forth terminology and procedures for identifying accidents; developing frequency based upon fleet miles; and determining preventability. An extensive glossary of terminology was part of this standard. This standard has been reviewed and modified, and will be incorporated as part of the new ANSI Z15 standard. The ANSI Z15 standard committee is composed of public and private organizations who are stakeholders in effective fleet management. Committee members include the National Safety Council, American Association of Fleet Administrators, the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, American Public Transit Association, American Trucking Association, and the United State Marine Corp. to name a few. Currently, 26 organizations are part of the committee. As previously mentioned, ASSE is the Secretariat of this committee.
- Transportation > Ground > Road (1.00)
- Transportation > Freight & Logistics Services (1.00)
- Government > Regional Government > North America Government > United States Government (0.90)
Proposed new hours of service regulations are being reconsidered by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. But, no matter when new hours of service present themselves, they will be prescriptive in defining how we manage our fleet operations. To get a prescription that comfortably fits our operations will be difficult to do. Especially given the growing body of scientific knowledge related to sleep and fatigue. And many fleet managers do not have compliance obligations for these rules anyway. And aside from the whole issue of regulations controlling hours of service, we are continually reminded that our current means of operations somehow are just not right. On a regular (but thankfully infrequent basis), an accident involving a fleet vehicle occurs which causes serious injury or fatalities. Many of these accidents have strong indications of fatigue induced driver behavior at the time of the accident. And yet, it is extremely rare that any hours of service violations exist when these accidents occur. Thus it seems that simply having hours of service rules around by which we can live is not enough to insure that our drivers are fit to drive safely during the course of their work day. The pressures of maintaining an adequate number of drivers in combination with growing demands for your fleet is a management challenge. Yet, are you doing enough to emphasize the importance of being well rested and physically fit for efficient and safe performance by drivers? Is there an organizational commitment to these principals? Are you doing more than just living by hours of service? Much has been learned about fatigue and how it is related to driver's activities. One thing is clear: it is far easier to understand the "science" of fatigue than it is to regulate or manage it. To put it another way, while all of us may agree on what causes fatigue, how we manage it is extremely difficult. And the fundamental reason for this is not because of a lack of knowledge or a lack of concern; rather, it relates to an organization's inability to control and regulate the activities of individuals while they are not being paid and, for some, the inescapable necessity to operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. And, attempting to manage any individual's time when they are not working raises legal and ethical questions which are far beyond the practical aspects of this presentation. Fatigue is a real issue in managing any fleet. Whether induced by work or at home, fatigue limits a driver's ability to be vigilant, increases inattentiveness and complacency; and slows the ability to make decisions and react. Any fleet manager should manage fatigue as much as they manage the maintenance of vehicles. The bottom line is we are faced with managing a physiological condition which is often routed in behavior which we can not manage but which can be influenced, sometimes significantly, by our operations. But how should you do this?
- Transportation > Ground > Road (1.00)
- Government > Regional Government > North America Government > United States Government (1.00)