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Driver fatigue is a real issue and authorities estimate that driver fatigue accounts for almost twenty percent of the national road toll in Australia. The Transport Roads and Traffic Authority has launched driver fatigue advertising campaigns in an attempt to educate drivers to the early warning signs of fatigue and to Stop. Revive. Survive. There are a vast number of people who rely on public transport in Australia. Buses are one of the major forms of public transport. As driver fatigue is such an issue, the aim of this article is to examine the unique nature of fatigue experienced by urban bus drivers. Metropolitan bus driving is one of the more stressful occupations and surprisingly with one of the lowest monetary recompense. This stress is because of the nature of the work. They are considered professional drivers and the pressure is on them to drive safely and to maintain tight and often unrealistic schedules. There are external factors such as variations in traffic that affect their performance and bus drivers often have no control over this environment. Research suggests that this type of mental and physical strain contributes significantly to driver fatigue in commercial drivers. * Dealing with cash can be stressful enough on its own. At the end of the day the driver is required to balance the books. The driver is expected to look after the money and it is not uncommon for a bus driver to be confronted by a thief and robbed. In some cases they are then expected to carry their cash tin to their car after their shift rather than leave it in a secure locker at the depot. Why? Because the employer did not provide lockers for the drivers. * Drivers are required to issue tickets based on authorized concessions. They are also required to validate tickets before allowing the entry of passengers. * Dealing with the public is often an underestimated challenge. There are your everyday requests for directions and sometimes there are language barriers. Drivers are sometimes needed to assist the disabled and the elderly. They also have to deal with the undesirable, aggressive type of passengers who may deal out a certain amount of verbal or even physical abuse. There is a domino effect when it comes to bus driving and stress and it all begins at the top. Driving a bus itself is a serious enough challenge. When bus drivers must contend with management for a basic level of pay, conditions and adequate equipment, they tend to consider that their safety is considered only secondary to the overall operation. Stress and fatigue are closely linked and potentially the result is disastrous. You are welcome to visit other pages of interest at Church Buildings For Sale, Commercial Buildings For Sale and Abandoned Buildings For Sale.
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bus drivers, fatigue, stress, fatigue management, scheduling, bus driver industrial action, commute times,
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