National Sleep Foundation 2012 Poll: Transportation Professionals' Sleep Habits, Work Performance

Kelly Messerschmidt
Technical Communications Manager
MSC

National Sleep Awareness Week is currently being observed in the US (March 5-11, 2012). According to the National Sleep Foundation 2012 poll--the first to ask transportation professionals about their sleep habits and work performance--11% of pilots, train operators, and bus/taxi/limo drivers, and 8% of truck drivers are "sleepy." Read the press release.

The poll also found that 14% of truck drivers, and 12% of bus/taxi/limo drivers polled reported having had a "near miss" due to sleepiness. Although individuals' sleep needs vary, most research assumes that normal adults sleep for 7-8 hours per night.

In NHTSA's "Drowsy Driving and Automobile Crashes" report, shift-workers whose sleep is disrupted by working at night, or working long or irregular hours, are categorized as being one of the three population groups at highest risk for "drowsy-driving" crashes. According to the National Sleep Foundation 2012 poll, a significant number of the transportation workers said their schedules do not allow enough time for sleep.