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Multi-Trailer Combination Vehicle Stress and Fatigue

FHWA and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) co-sponsored this study, performed by Battelle, of the effect of multiple-trailer combination vehicle (MTCV) operation on driver stress and fatigue.

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Its goal was to determine whether there are differences in driver alertness and performance arising from driving single-trailer versus two different types of triple-trailer combinations:

Those employing A-dollies and those employing C-dollies. Twenty-four experienced MTCV drivers each drove six round trips (two with each configuration). Total mileage per driver was about 2,700 miles. Trailer configuration was found to affect driver stress/fatigue as measured by lane keeping, driver subjective workload, and physiological state. Task demands were greatest with triple/A-dollies, followed by triple/C-dollies and, last, single-trailers. However, stress/fatigue differences relating to trailer configuration were small compared to the individual differences among drivers.

Alertness correlated much more highly with driver individual differences than with vehicle configuration. A summary report was submitted to Congress in March 1996. (FMCSA PM: Deborah Freund, 202-366-5541).

Above data as reported from: United States Department of Transportation - Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration