WASHINGTON -- Researchers are putting the finishing touches on a study that could help motorcoach operators and regulators deal with two hot-button driver issues - hours of service and fatigue.
The report being prepared by the Transportation Research Board for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration will package all of the available research, current practices and other critical information that address the issues.
Christopher W. Jenks, manager of the research board's commercial truck and bus safety synthesis program, said the report will be finished in a matter of weeks and probably will be available to the motorcoach industry early this year after a review by an oversight committee.
The study was requested by the FMCSA after it decided to exclude the coach industry from the revised hours-of-service rules it developed for the trucking industry more than a year ago. The study also is designed to provide the coach industry with the most current information on hours of service and fatigue available.
"It is mostly meant to be informative and should be of use to motorcoach operators who are interested in knowing what is going on and what is out there right now," said Jenks.
Much of the information for the study was gathered from interviews and surveys of coach operators, tour trade groups, insurance companies and drivers, as well as a comprehensive review of contemporary literature on the subject.
John Brock, a private consultant who is writing the report, said very little specific research has been done on motorcoach driver hours and the potential for fatigue. Nor is there much literature available on motorcoach operations and management practices related to the issues.
"Had I known there was so little information out there I might not have been so eager to take the lead on this," he remarked.
A key portion of the study involved a review of the so-called extended workday. That is, when a coach operator drives before and after an off-duty period during which the driver's passengers are away from the bus sightseeing or working. During those periods, there often are no adequate facilities where the driver can rest or sleep.
Currently, a motorcoach driver who has not worked for eight hours may drive up to 10 hours within a 15-hour period. Once the driver reaches 10 hours of behind-the-wheel time, or has been on duty 15 hours, the driver must go off duty for eight consecutive hours.
By comparison, the hours-of-service rules that truckers now work under limit their driving to 11 hours following 10 consecutive hours of off-duty time.
The project work statement for the study notes that while motorcoach customers try to maximize the use of drivers and coaches when scheduling charters and tours, most of them are unaware of the hours-of-service requirements imposed on drivers.
The work statement suggested the report describe the techniques motorcoach operators and their employees use to inform customers of the requirements and how they relate to driver rest and fatigue issues.
At the time the new hours-of-service rules were announced for truckers, FMSCA Administrator Annette Sandberg said there was no evidence that fatigue-related accidents were a problem in the motorcoach industry and that its exclusion from the rule change reflected its safety record.
Brock indicated the research project has confirmed what many motorcoach industry officials have been saying for years. That is, that there are major differences between driving people and hauling potatoes.
Brock said that while researchers found significant differences between coach and truck drivers, they discovered nothing that shows if one job is more fatiguing than the other. "We know coach drivers get more sleep because they have more access to hotels and motels," he said. "But that's after they have herded their group around and done a lot of non-driving activities."
Additionally, he said over-the-road drivers get stressed out for different reasons - truck drivers because they are trying to get a load delivered at a certain time, and coach drivers because they are transporting people.
Brock said that transporting people just might give coach drivers an advantage because people talk, play music and might recognize when a driver is becoming fatigued because the coach may start drifting on the highway or there are rapid acceleration changes. Passengers could alert the driver when they see such signs, possibly avoiding an accident.
"I would really like to see a research study on motorcoach drivers and fatigue and see what they do over time," he said.