According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), motor vehicle crashes cause over 40 percent of work-related deaths in the oil and gas extraction industry. Driver fatigue, which may be a result of insufficient sleep, long distances traveled to well sites and long work shifts, is a factor in some of these crashes. In addition to the loss of life, the average on-the-job fatal crash is estimated to cost employers $671,000. Legal settlements can be even more costly.
Oil and gas employers are responsible for the health and safety of their employees. NIOSH recently released a fact sheet recommending strategies for employers to manage fatigued driving among their workers.
What factors put workers at risk for fatigued driving?
- Time of day: Natural body clocks (circadian rhythms) give strong signals that it's time to sleep at night and early morning hours. Many people also experience a dip in alertness in the afternoon.
- Monotonous tasks: Driving for extended periods of time with few changes in routine can increase workers' risk of fatigued or inattentive driving.
- Length of time awake: The more hours awake, the more likely people are to be fatigued. Fatigue can impair driving and other tasks, similar to alcohol impairment. Small sleep deficits accumulated over time can also result in impairment.
- Medications and health conditions: Illnesses, diseases and some medications may interfere with workers' alertness, increasing the risk of fatigued driving.
It's important to stress the reality of fatigued driving to your employees with stories like the following: One oil and gas worker was recently driving on a rural twolane highway in a single-unit truck in the afternoon. The driver was either fatigued or fell asleep, causing the truck to drift off the road into a ditch. The truck overturned, ejecting the driver, who was not wearing a seatbelt. He later died at the hospital.
For more information and to download the fact sheet, visit www. cdc.gov/niosh.