Hours of Service & Fatigue in School Bus Drivers

Fatigue is known as a Declining Alertness

Declining Alertness is either physical (where the body is not able to function as it normally does) or it is mental (which includes the decision making process). Driving a school bus is a divided attention task. It includes physically driving the vehicle while being alert to other vehicles and pedestrians around you as well as being aware of the behavior of the students on the bus. 

There are three types of Declining Alertness:

Older vs. Younger Drivers

The decline in the decision making process in older drivers versus younger drivers is a concern for transportation directors. Through research, it has been discovered that a 55-year-old driver has a reaction time of 1.4 seconds while a 25-year-old driver has a reaction time of 1.2 seconds. The younger driver's reaction time is shorter, often due to making a hasty decision because of inexperience in driving. But frequently, the driver has to reevaluate, then, take further action to overcome his first incorrect decision. The older driver takes a few tenths of a second longer to react because he is using his past experiences to make the correct decision the first time. 

Quiet Rest

Worldwide, 20 professors holding PhD's, researched declining alertness and reached the conclusion that quiet rest is the only solution to ensure that a driver is not fatigued. The research also indicated that the mental process tends to rest during short rest periods (20 - 30 minutes) rather than longer periods of time 45 - 60 minutes). During longer periods of time, full sleep mode occurs causing grogginess when the individual is awakened. The driver must not be responsible for making any decisions during the short rest period. 

Hours on Duty

Hour 13 - A school bus driver starts a serious decline in efficiency after he has been awake or without rest for 13 hours. He thinks he is in super work mode, but, in reality, his performance is declining rapidly. He becomes a liability to the school. 

Hour 16 - At 16 hours on duty or without any rest, the driver starts hallucinating-seeing objects that are not really there. 

Hour 17 - At 17 hours, the driver starts micro sleeps, commonly known as "cat naps" with a span of two to eight seconds. At this point, the mental process is not making reasonable adjustments for the driving task. 

Hour 18 - At 18 hours, the driver begins what is called Dominant Focus. This is when a driver becomes fixated on an object, usually another vehicle. For example, if the object is a vehicle and it changed lanes, then, the driver would change lanes along with the other vehicle without a conscious effort. If there were other vehicles in the way, an accident could occur. Another example is when a vehicle is on the side of a roadway with its 4-way flashers activated or a police cruiser with its emergency lights on. If the driver was fixated on the lights and drove toward them, it could result in a collision. 

Arizona Administrative Code, Minimum Standards for School Buses and School Bus Drivers

The on-duty hours requirements for school bus drivers are found in section R-17-9-104 C. Further explanation can be found in the definitions of the Minimum Standards under "On-duty" and "Off-duty". These requirements are designed to reduce the incidence of fatigue in school bus drivers in order to maintain their safety and the safety of the children they transport.