General Research
RESEARCH
KOTI - Korea Transport institute
Improvement of Driving and Rest Hours for Commercial
- Date
November 30 2017
- Page(s)
page(s)
There have been deadly bus traffic accidents that have had tremendous impacts on our society in recent years. This research aims to develop regulations to tackle bus traffic accidents being caused by drowsiness and driving fatigue. Bus traffic accidents have recently gained greater attention as horrifying scenes of crashes are rapidly and widely distributed through mass media like broadcasting and Social Network Services, even though accident fatalities have decreased by 14.1% over the last 10 years (2006-2015).
Drowsiness and fatigue related traffic crashes can be considered to be associated with rest areas. This research shows that more traffic crashes have occurred on 5 km sections before rest areas, compared to 5km sections after rest areas on freeways. It seems that fatigue and drowsiness of bus drivers are very related to consecutive driving hours. Analysis with the Kaplan-Meier Model shows that hazardous driving behavior (the number of abrupt decelerations) increase with consecutive driving hours.
The fatigue and drowsiness of bus drivers are affected by types of employment. Approximately 50% of bus drivers serve under the exploitative labor contracts Bok-gyeok-il-je and Bok․Bok-gyeok-il-je (bok-gyeok-il-je: one day of work - one day off, bokbok-gyeok-il-je: two days of work - one day off) which may cause drowsiness and fatigue related to traffic crashes. Long bus routes also seem to be a big problem in preventing fatigue and the drowsiness of bus drivers. Analysis of operational hours and the distance on bus routes shows that a number of drivers have to be behind the wheel more than 5 hours without a break because of long bus routes.
Driving hours are very related to the Labor Standards Act. It is clearly stipulated in Section 50 of the Labor Standards Act that working hours should not exceed 8 hours except for rest time. The transport industry, however, is an exception to the standards in Section 59 of the same Act. The exception makes it possible to allow exploitative labor contracts (one day of work - one day off or two days of work - one day off). On the other hand, a number of advanced countries such as the in the EU, the US, Japan, Australia, and the United Kingdom have strict regulations for driving hours in order to prevent the fatigue and drowsiness of bus drivers. For example, the maximum driving time of these countries is 9-12 hours a day and 40-72 hour a week respectively.
The following are policies being proposed by this research:
First, maximum driving hours should be regulated on a daily, a weekly and a monthly basis. Drowsiness and fatigue related traffic crashes will not disappear without improving exploitative employment types such as bok-gyeok-il-je and bokbok-gyeok-il-je.
Second, Compliance with driving hour regulations should be strictly monitored. DTG(Digital Tachograph) may not be a good approach to enforce violators because of the various limitations of DTG. Control by on-duty police may be the best way to step up monitoring of driving hour regulations.
Third, Long bus routes need to be adjusted so that consecutive driving hours do not exceed 2 hours. In the case a long bus route is inevitable, rest areas should be installed in some spots along bus routes. Driver shifts at the bus station may deserve much consideration.
Drowsiness and fatigue related traffic crashes can be considered to be associated with rest areas. This research shows that more traffic crashes have occurred on 5 km sections before rest areas, compared to 5km sections after rest areas on freeways. It seems that fatigue and drowsiness of bus drivers are very related to consecutive driving hours. Analysis with the Kaplan-Meier Model shows that hazardous driving behavior (the number of abrupt decelerations) increase with consecutive driving hours.
The fatigue and drowsiness of bus drivers are affected by types of employment. Approximately 50% of bus drivers serve under the exploitative labor contracts Bok-gyeok-il-je and Bok․Bok-gyeok-il-je (bok-gyeok-il-je: one day of work - one day off, bokbok-gyeok-il-je: two days of work - one day off) which may cause drowsiness and fatigue related to traffic crashes. Long bus routes also seem to be a big problem in preventing fatigue and the drowsiness of bus drivers. Analysis of operational hours and the distance on bus routes shows that a number of drivers have to be behind the wheel more than 5 hours without a break because of long bus routes.
Driving hours are very related to the Labor Standards Act. It is clearly stipulated in Section 50 of the Labor Standards Act that working hours should not exceed 8 hours except for rest time. The transport industry, however, is an exception to the standards in Section 59 of the same Act. The exception makes it possible to allow exploitative labor contracts (one day of work - one day off or two days of work - one day off). On the other hand, a number of advanced countries such as the in the EU, the US, Japan, Australia, and the United Kingdom have strict regulations for driving hours in order to prevent the fatigue and drowsiness of bus drivers. For example, the maximum driving time of these countries is 9-12 hours a day and 40-72 hour a week respectively.
The following are policies being proposed by this research:
First, maximum driving hours should be regulated on a daily, a weekly and a monthly basis. Drowsiness and fatigue related traffic crashes will not disappear without improving exploitative employment types such as bok-gyeok-il-je and bokbok-gyeok-il-je.
Second, Compliance with driving hour regulations should be strictly monitored. DTG(Digital Tachograph) may not be a good approach to enforce violators because of the various limitations of DTG. Control by on-duty police may be the best way to step up monitoring of driving hour regulations.
Third, Long bus routes need to be adjusted so that consecutive driving hours do not exceed 2 hours. In the case a long bus route is inevitable, rest areas should be installed in some spots along bus routes. Driver shifts at the bus station may deserve much consideration.