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Drowsy Driving and Shift Work Disorder – Hot Topic at NAFA Conference

Written by: SFD News on September 17th, 2009

Drowsy Driving and Shift Work Disorder - Hot Topic at NAFA Conference | read this item

At the 4th Annual Southern Regional Conference of the NAFA Fleet Management Association, topics such as Service Level Agreements, Accident Avoidance and 2010 Diesel Emissions are not the only things on the Agenda for the October 8-10 conference in Orange Beach, Alabama … Drowsy Driving is right up there.

The Dangers of Drowsy Driving – Matthew Betz’s second presentation will discuss the scope of drowsy driving; how to identify drowsy driving crashes in your fleet; if your fleet drivers are at risk; and how to reduce the risk of drowsy driving crashes in your fleet.

According to the AAA Foundation people at work who sleep only six hours and work more than 60 hours per week have an increased risk for drowsy driving which is almost four times greater than the general population. And falling asleep at the wheel can be just as dangerous as drinking and driving. Drowsiness can produce the same types of effects as alcohol: impaired vision, slower reaction time, impaired judgment, decreased awareness and handeye coordination, all of which increase the chances of having an accident. Studies have shown that people who have been awake for 18 hours show a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.05, and those awake for 20 hours have a 0.08 BAC level, which is legally drunk in many states.

And night drivers are at the most risk.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health states that traffic-related motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of work-related deaths, and data shows that there is a greater increase during the night shift. There is also the problem associated with driver fatigue common among shift workers. For many, shift work results in sleep deprivation, which can be risky when employees are behind the wheel.

The conference, presented by the Alabama Chapter of NAFA Fleet Management Association, kicks off with a pool side reception sponsored by NAPA Auto Parts on Thursday night and followed by two days of presentations and networking on Friday and Saturday. NAFA is the association for the diverse vehicle fleet management profession regardless of organizational type, geographic locationor fleet composition. NAFA’s Full and Associate Members are responsible for the specification, acquisition, maintenance and repair, fueling, risk management, and remarketing of more than 3.5 million vehicles including in excess of 1.1 million trucks of which350 thousand are medium- and heavy-duty trucks. For more information visit http://www.nafa.org