FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION • OFFICE OF MOTOR CARRIERS

FHWA Contact: Robert Carroll, HCS-30, (202) 366-9109

Impact of Local/Short Haul

Operations on Driver Fatigue: Focus

Group Summary and Analysis

Introduction

Local/short haul (L/SH) operations are defined as those in which commercial motor 

vehicle drivers primarily engage in trips of 100 miles or less from their home base. L/SH

drivers usually make multiple deliveries in a single trip, sometimes load and unload 

the vehicle, carry packages, and perform many tasks in addition to driving. This is in

contrast with the duties of long-haul commercial motor vehicle drivers, whose primary

task is driving the truck, and who are typically involved in “hook-and-drop” operations,

in which a trailer is hooked to a truck, driven to a destination, and dropped off.

Due to the nature of the long-haul driver’s task, one of the most prevalent safety issues

in long-haul operations is driver fatigue. Long-haul drivers have variable schedules,

may be on the road for several days or weeks at a time, and may drive, eat, and sleep

at irregular times. L/SH drivers, however, work primarily during daylight hours and

begin and end their day at their home base.

The characteristics of the schedule and the work performed by L/SH drivers suggest

that fatigue may not be as important an issue in L/SH as it is in long-haul trucking. This

tech brief summarizes a report (FHWA-MC-98-029) that covers the first of a two-phase

FHWA study to examine the extent of fatigue in the L/SH driving industry.

Purpose

Researchers sought to determine if fatigue is equally as important a factor influencing

the safety of L/SH truck operations. Accordingly, researchers conducted focus groups in

eight cities, across five states. The purpose of these sessions was to gain an understanding of the general safety concerns related to the L/SH trucking industry and specifically,

if fatigue is a safety-critical issue in L/SH trucking.

Methodology

Between May and August 1997, 11 focus groups were held in New Jersey, North

Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Washington State. Eighty-two L/SH drivers participated in the focus group sessions: 76 participants were male and 6 were female. The

participants worked in a variety of industries, including: air freight, beverage/beer,

building materials, chemicals/fertilizers, construction/heavy equipment, gas/oil, produce,

seafood, and snack foods.

Drivers were selected for participation in this study by one of three methods. Researchers placed advertisements in local newspapers; drivers who responded to the ad were

screened over the phone to assess their eligibility. Researchers also recruited participants

by distributing flyers in trucking companies in the areas where the focus groups were

held, and by making arrangements directly with L/SH trucking company management.

Tech Brief

The vision of the Office of

Motor Carriers is to help

move people, goods, and

commercial motor vehicles

on our Nation’s highways in

the most efficient, economical, and crash-free manner

possible. The OMC research

and technology program

focuses on improving safety

in interstate commercial

motor vehicle operations and

serves a trucking and motor

coach industry that carries

more than 40 percent of all

intercity freight.

Studies are conducted in the

following areas: commercial

driver human factors, health,

and performance needs; new

and emerging driver and

vehicle technologies; safetyrelated data collection and

analysis needs; and performance-based changes to the

Federal Motor Carrier Safety

Regulations.

The OMC’s human factors

research projects aim to 

promote alert, healthy 

drivers and seek to improve

the uniformity and effectiveness of driver training and

licensing.

Office of Motor Carrier Research

and Standards

400 Seventh Street, SW

HCS-30; Room 3107

Washington, DC 20590
During the course of the sessions, drivers were given

the opportunity to describe and discuss issues that

they felt were important to the industry. In addition

to answering questions concerning general safety

issues and driver fatigue, drivers discussed the L/SH

industry in general. Participants were not informed

that the study was specifically concerned with 

investigating fatigue in the L/SH industry.

At the start of each focus group session, drivers 

provided a general description of their jobs and the

tasks they typically perform. Then drivers were asked

to recall critical incidents, both driving and nondriving, that they had experienced or heard about,

and the factors that may have caused the incidents. 

A critical incident was defined as an incident that has

the potential to cause a crash, such as another vehicle

making a sudden stop or a pedestrian stepping into

the truck’s path.

This discussion generated a list of safety issues 

associated with the critical incidents; drivers were

asked to rank the issues in order of importance.

Drivers also discussed fatigue-related concerns/

problems that they experienced and the safety issues

involved, then ranked each fatigue-related safety

issue in terms of importance.

Findings

Driver Descriptions

All of the participating drivers described themselves

as full-time L/SH drivers or as driving L/SH at least 50

percent of the time. 

The mean number of hours drivers spent working per

week was 48.9 hours, ranging from 20 hours to 65

hours. Thirty-three percent of drivers indicated that

they occasionally drove outside a 100-mile radius

from their work center. Seventy-eight percent stated

that at least 50 percent of their day was spent 

driving. The mean number of miles driven per day

was 157 miles, ranging from 3 miles to 425 miles. 

The mean reported number of years of truck driving

experience was 12.8 years and the mean number of

L/SH driving experience was 9.5 years.

General Safety Issues

Most of the focus group discussion centered on 

general safety issues within the L/SH industry. Drivers

chose the following as their top five safety-related

issues:

1. Problems caused by drivers of “light vehicles”

(defined below)

2. Stress due to time pressure

3. Inattention to the road

4. Problems caused by roadway/dock design

5. Fatigue

Figure 1 illustrates the ranking the drivers gave the

general safety issues. This ranking represents a 

consolidation of responses received in all 11 sessions.

Drivers ranked the issues from 1 to 15, in order of

importance, with the most important issue receiving 

a ranking of 1. Because high rankings were assigned

low numerical values, higher rankings are depicted 

by shorter bars.

The highest ranking critical issue, and the only issue

mentioned in all 11 sessions, was “problems caused

by drivers of light vehicles.” Examples of “light 

vehicles” would include cars, pickup trucks, and 

recreational vehicles. According to focus group 

participants, the problems caused by these vehicles

stem from two sources. Participants felt that light

vehicle drivers were “discourteous” to truck drivers

and “show them little respect.” Also, the participants

believed there is a need for more education for light

vehicle drivers in order that they might better know

how to interact with trucks.

Fatigue was raised as a safety issue in 36 percent of

the focus group sessions and ranked fifth overall. This

contrasts with “problems caused by drivers of light

vehicles,” raised in 100 percent of the sessions, and

Other Drivers

Stress Due to Time

Pressure

Inattention

Roadway/Dock Design

Fatigue

Carelessness

Traffic Congestion

Weather

Vehicle Design

Over-Confidence

0 2 4 6 8 10

High Low

Ranking of Importance

Safety Issues

Figure 1.

Ranking of top 10 safety issues. 

(Higher rankings depicted by shorter bars.)
“stress due to time pressure,” mentioned in 91 

percent of the sessions.

Fatigue Issues

Later in each of the focus group sessions, drivers were

also asked to describe incidents when they were

fatigued on the job, and to discuss how they thought

fatigue affects the L/SH industry. As in the discussion

of general safety issues, drivers were asked to list and

rank causal factors of on-the-job fatigue. As shown 

in Figure 2, the following are the top five fatiguerelated issues as perceived by drivers: 

1. Not enough sleep

2. Hard, physical workday

3. Heat/no air conditioning

4. Waiting to unload

5. Irregular meal times

On a questionnaire, drivers were asked about 

the amount of sleep they typically got each night.

Researchers compared the average amount of sleep

reported by drivers who cited fatigue as a safety issue

with the amount of sleep reported by drivers that did

not. The comparison found that drivers who listed

fatigue as a concern reported less sleep per night

than those that did not consider fatigue to be an

issue, suggesting that drivers who get more sleep 

are less likely to cite fatigue as an issue during the

workday.

In discussing the impact of fatigue, drivers gave 

several reasons why they believe fatigue is not as 

critical an issue in L/SH as it is in long-haul trucking.

These L/SH drivers reported that they typically work

during daylight hours, have work breaks that interrupt their driving, end their shift at their home base,

and sleep in their own beds at night. This research

suggests that, concerning fatigue, L/SH drivers are

more like workers of non-driving professions than

long-haul drivers. In this case, fatigue may not result

from work, but may be influenced by personal choices, such as not getting enough sleep at night.

Further Research

The focus group sessions described here are the first

step in an ongoing L/SH driver fatigue research project. This first phase presents the perceptions of the

L/SH drivers with respect to general safety issues in

the industry and the relative significance of fatigue,

which was fifth among general safety issues, yet less

significant than interactions with other vehicles. 

The L/SH project researchers have begun state-ofthe-art, instrumented-vehicle data collection that 

will include a capability for driver error/incident 

capturing and determination of antecedent conditions, including fatigue, distraction (both inside and

outside of the vehicle), and other factors. This 

second phase of the study will provide an empirical

assessment and quantification of the role of fatigue

and other factors in errors made by L/SH drivers.

Understanding driver error and its antecedents will

further the FHWA’s understanding of the human 

factors of crash causation. Instrumented vehicle 

data on CMV driver backing and lane-changing 

performance will also be collected as an ancillary

effort to this fatigue study.

11

9

7

5

3

High 1

Low

Fatigue Issues

Ranking of Importance

Not Enough Sleep Hard/Physical 

Workday

Heat/No A/C Waiting to Unload Irregular Meal

Times

Figure 2.

Ranking of top 5 fatigue issues. (Higher rankings depicted by shorter bars.)
Researcher

This study was performed by

the Center for Transportation

Research, Virginia Polytechnic

Institute and State University,

1700 Kraft Drive, Suite 2000,

Blacksburg, VA, 24601-0536.

Contract No. DTFH61-96-C00105.

Distribution

This Tech Brief is being distributed according to a standard

distribution. Direct distribution

is being made to the Resource

Centers and Divisions.

Availability

The study final report is 

available from the National

Technical Information Service,

Telephone: (703) 605-6000.

Key Words

local/short haul, truck, driving,

fatigue, inattention, focus

group, taxonomy, human 

factors.

Notice

This Tech Brief is disseminated

under the sponsorship of the

Department of Transportation

in the interest of information

exchange. The Tech Brief 

provides a synopsis of the

study’s final publication. The

Tech Brief does not establish

policies or regulations, nor

does it imply FHWA endorsement of the conclusions or 

recommendations. The U.S.

Government assumes no 

liability for its contents or 

their use.

November 1998

Publication No. FHWA-MCRT-99-002