Effects of Scheduling on Sleep and Performance in Commercial Motorcoach Operations

Maintaining cognitive alertness during commercial motorcoach operations is important for drivers as they are responsible for preventing, detecting, and managing errors. Schedules that do not follow circadian and homeostatic sleep principles may contribute to fatigue related events and accidents. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has hours-of- service (HOS) regulations in place that allow motorcoach operators to work backwardly rotating 18-23 hour duty cycles (a duty cycle being the sum of HOS mandated on and off duty periods), requiring progressively earlier start times. Such schedules do not allow for sufficient and appropriately placed rest periods, resulting in fatigue and decreased performance. This study will investigate the effect of scheduling on sleep and performance in motorcoach operators. The authors are collecting objective and subjective data on sleep and performance of motorcoach drivers working under the current HOS regulations to observe the prevalence of circadian friendly and mismatched schedules, and the impact work schedules have on sleep and performance. This article describes the study design and methodology.