Profiling contextual factors which influence safety in heavy vehicle industries

Shared public transport within a physical internet framework: Reviews, conceptualization and expected challenges under COVID-19 pandemic

Traffic congestion, dominated by private mobility, reveals not only negative impacts on road safety and the environment, but also on community cohesion. With the global COVID-19/SARS-CoV-2COVID-19 (COVID-19) epidemic, there is an urgent need for social isolation and the use of individual private transport as per the approved health guidelines. Urban transport, especially public transportation (PT), is among the primary sectors affected due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, novel alternatives for competitive PT services still have to be provided to remain meeting the socio-economic and ecological PT challenges. In this respect, sharing PT vehicles carrying passengers (shared freight-PT) could exploit a significant residual capacity as absorptive capacity is actually reduced. However, such use is based on a large-scale mutualization. The idea of integrating freight in passenger transit networks could be efficient within a Physical Internet (PI or π) framework for improving system monitoring, operational performance and, user comfort. This paper explores the major trends in the theory and practice of shared transport systems, in terms of passengers and freight, and suggests a PI conceptual framework to check if we could promote such logistics. In exploring the PI approach, a number of proposals appear providing answers and advance researches towards shared freight-PT.

Determinants of the occupational environment and heavy vehicle crashes in Western Australia: A case-control study

OBJECTIVE

To determine the association between a heavy vehicle driver's work environment, including fatigue-related characteristics, and the risk of a crash in Western Australia.

METHODS

This case-control study included 100 long-haul heavy vehicle drivers who were involved in a police-reported crash in WA and 100 long-haul heavy vehicle drivers recruited from WA truck stops, who were not involved in a crash in the previous 12 months. Driver demographics and driving details, work environment, vehicle and sleep-related characteristics were obtained using an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Drivers were tested for obstructive sleep apnoea using an overnight diagnostic device. Conditional multiple logistic regression analysis was undertaken to determine work environment-related factors associated with crash involvement.

RESULTS

After accounting for potential confounders, driving a heavy vehicle with an empty load was associated with almost a three-fold increased crash risk compared to carrying general freight (adjusted OR: 2.93, 95% CI: 1.17-7.34). Driving a rigid heavy vehicle was associated with a four-fold increased risk of crashing compared to articulated heavy vehicles (adjusted OR: 4.08, 95% CI: 1.13-14.68). The risk of crashing was almost five times higher when driving more than 50% of the trip between midnight and 5.59am (adjusted OR: 4.86, 95% CI: 1.47-16.07). Furthermore, the risk of crashing significantly increased if the time since the last break on the index trip was greater than 2h (adjusted OR: 2.18, 95% CI: 1.14-4.17). Drivers with more than 10 years driving experience were 52% less likely to be involved in a crash (adjusted OR: 0.48, 95% CI: 0.23-0.99).

CONCLUSION

The results provide support for an association between a driver's work environment, fatigue-related factors, and the risk of heavy vehicle crash involvement. Greater attention needs to be paid to the creation of a safer work environment for long distance heavy vehicle drivers.