BP Fighting driver tiredness and fatigue in New Zealand

BP Fighting driver tiredness and fatigue in New Zealand

Tiredness is an acknowledged killer. For several years BP has been helping its truck drivers drive more safely by staying alert and increasing awareness of the signs of tiredness and fatigue. BP are now extending the programme to address all professional drivers in its workforce, whether a truck driver or a car driver. Research suggests that up to 20% of motorway accidents and 10% of all road accidents are the result of driver tiredness or fatigue¹. The results of fatigue may range from slower reaction times to actually falling asleep at the wheel. In 30% of cases the most serious driving accidents involving BP or BP contracted staff, tiredness and fatigue was found to be one of the underlying causes. BP is working with two centres of excellence in sleep research to help address the problem of driver tiredness and fatigue. Since 1996 BP New Zealand and the Sleep/Wake Research Centre at the Wellington School of Medicine have worked together to produce a fatigue management plan for BP drivers. Similarly, in the Northern hemisphere, BP is working with AWAKE, part of the Loughborough University Sleep Research Unit in the UK. The foundation of this work is combining the latest scientific information with BP’s operational and management expertise, to develop practical, effective strategies for reducing driver tiredness and fatigue. It builds on experience the teams have developed through working on our ongoing programme for tanker drivers over the past five years. The programmes include personal awareness training sessions along with videos and publications. It allows participants to ask questions relating to their own experience and needs. A secondary benefit of these initiatives is that tiredness and fatigue no longer seem to be perceived as a personal weakness. This has led to much greater openness in discussions about the issue, and about ways to manage it.