Lack of consistency in truck driver fatigue management: Australian law enforcement officer’s and transport regulation agent’s perceptions of enforcement

IF 3.5 2区工程技术 Q1 PSYCHOLOGY, APPLIED

Transportation Research Part F-Traffic Psychology and Behaviour Pub Date : 2025-04-26 DOI:10.1016/j.trf.2025.04.007

Gregory J. Casey , Toby Miles-Johnson , Garry J. Stevens

{"title":"Lack of consistency in truck driver fatigue management: Australian law enforcement officer’s and transport regulation agent’s perceptions of enforcement","authors":"Gregory J. Casey , Toby Miles-Johnson , Garry J. Stevens","doi":"10.1016/j.trf.2025.04.007","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Truck driver fatigue is regarded as a serious safety hazard and a leading factor in road crashes in the Australian road transport industry. Since 2014 most Australian states have enforced truck driver fatigue regulation via restrictive work hours. Despite the implementation of these control measures, truck driver fatigue remains a safety issue, exacerbated by inconsistent regulation between the organisations and functionaries tasked with its management. This study presents the findings from semi-structured interviews conducted with law enforcement officers (LEO) and transport regulation agents (TRA) to determine factors that influence their intentions and behaviours regarding the enforcement of truck driver fatigue (TDF) regulations. <span><span>Ajzen, 2005</span></span> Theory of Planned Behaviour was used to examine the factors that enable or disenable TDF enforcement, and how different perceptions within and between these cohorts often lead to inconsistent enforcement outcomes. Six main themes emerged from the study: 1) Limited foundational training affects practice knowledge, 2) Limited practice knowledge undermines confidence and enforcement actions, 3) Use of discretionary powers may mask skill gaps, 4) Competing occupational demands constrain TDF enforcement, 5) Exposure to TDF incidents reinforces enforcement practice, and 6) Self-motivated field learning positively affects knowledge and practice skills. The findings from this study offer original insight into a previously under-researched area regarding the factors which affect the enforcement of truck driver fatigue laws in Australia.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48355,"journal":{"name":"Transportation Research Part F-Traffic Psychology and Behaviour","volume":"112 ","pages":"Pages 322-341"},"PeriodicalIF":3.5000,"publicationDate":"2025-04-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Transportation Research Part F-Traffic Psychology and Behaviour","FirstCategoryId":"5","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1369847825001330","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"PSYCHOLOGY, APPLIED","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

Truck driver fatigue is regarded as a serious safety hazard and a leading factor in road crashes in the Australian road transport industry. Since 2014 most Australian states have enforced truck driver fatigue regulation via restrictive work hours. Despite the implementation of these control measures, truck driver fatigue remains a safety issue, exacerbated by inconsistent regulation between the organisations and functionaries tasked with its management. This study presents the findings from semi-structured interviews conducted with law enforcement officers (LEO) and transport regulation agents (TRA) to determine factors that influence their intentions and behaviours regarding the enforcement of truck driver fatigue (TDF) regulations. Ajzen, 2005 Theory of Planned Behaviour was used to examine the factors that enable or disenable TDF enforcement, and how different perceptions within and between these cohorts often lead to inconsistent enforcement outcomes. Six main themes emerged from the study: 1) Limited foundational training affects practice knowledge, 2) Limited practice knowledge undermines confidence and enforcement actions, 3) Use of discretionary powers may mask skill gaps, 4) Competing occupational demands constrain TDF enforcement, 5) Exposure to TDF incidents reinforces enforcement practice, and 6) Self-motivated field learning positively affects knowledge and practice skills. The findings from this study offer original insight into a previously under-researched area regarding the factors which affect the enforcement of truck driver fatigue laws in Australia.

查看原文本刊更多论文

卡车司机疲劳管理缺乏一致性：澳大利亚执法人员和运输监管人员对执法的看法

卡车司机疲劳驾驶被视为严重的安全隐患，也是导致澳大利亚公路运输业发生道路交通事故的主要因素。自 2014 年以来，澳大利亚大多数州都通过限制工作时间来实施卡车司机疲劳驾驶法规。尽管实施了这些控制措施，但卡车司机疲劳驾驶仍是一个安全问题，而负责管理的组织和职能部门之间的监管不一致又加剧了这一问题。本研究介绍了对执法人员（LEO）和运输监管人员（TRA）进行的半结构式访谈的结果，以确定影响他们执行卡车司机疲劳驾驶（TDF）法规的意图和行为的因素。研究采用了 Ajzen（2005 年）的计划行为理论，以考察促进或阻碍 TDF 执行的因素，以及这些群体内部和之间的不同看法如何经常导致执行结果的不一致。研究得出了六大主题：1) 有限的基础培训影响实践知识；2) 有限的实践知识削弱信心和执法行动；3) 自由裁量权的使用可能掩盖技能差距；4) 相互竞争的职业需求限制了 TDF 的执法；5) TDF 事件的暴露强化了执法实践；6) 自我激励的实地学习对知识和实践技能产生积极影响。本研究的结果为以前研究不足的澳大利亚卡车司机疲劳驾驶法律执行的影响因素领域提供了新的见解。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

Transportation Research Part F-Traffic Psychology and Behaviour Multiple-

CiteScore

7.60

自引率

14.60%

发文量

239

审稿时长

71 days

期刊介绍： Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour focuses on the behavioural and psychological aspects of traffic and transport. The aim of the journal is to enhance theory development, improve the quality of empirical studies and to stimulate the application of research findings in practice. TRF provides a focus and a means of communication for the considerable amount of research activities that are now being carried out in this field. The journal provides a forum for transportation researchers, psychologists, ergonomists, engineers and policy-makers with an interest in traffic and transport psychology.