Análisis de la nube de puntos sin filtrar

In 2014 (June 1.-3.) the Norwegian union for occupational drivers

«Yrkestrafikkforbundet» (YTF) and the NPRA conducted a survey on HGV drivers’ wages. A total of 500 long distance drivers answered the survey at Svinesund

inspection station, which is located on the Norwegian border. The drivers were asked about their monthly wages and their working time. Both driver nationality and truck nationality were registered. The Institute of Transport Economics was granted access to the survey data and cooperated with YTF on analysing the results of the survey. Figure 11.2 shows how the average monthly wages of the drivers in the survey are distributed according to the nationality of the drivers and the trucks.

Figure 11.1. Average monthly wages in NOK, distributed according to driver and vehicle nationality. Source: YTF.

The figure indicates that the wage differences between the national groups are smaller than indicated by Eurostat (2013) numbers. Secondly, the figure shows that monthly wages based on vehicle nationality is lower than monthly wages based on driver nationality for all countries except for Slovakia and Hungary. This means that transport companies in nearly all countries hire drivers from countries with lower costs, and that these are paid less than drivers in the countries where they are hired.

Summing up

The literature review results diverge when it comes to the issue of whether and how competition may influence the safety level in HGV transport. Competition is an important framework condition for HGV safety, although researchers may disagree when it comes whether the consequences are positive, negative or neutral. Some researchers suggest that tight competition may drive the less safe actors out of business; while others conclude that it is the other way around. The most important framework condition influencing the competitive abilities of road transport

companies is the level of wages. Previous research also indicates that performance pay for HGV drivers may be negative for transport safety.

Interviewees pointed to commission pay among foreign drivers and that this may be negative for transport safety, but underlined however that they do not know the prevalence of different pay systems among foreign drivers. It was also mentioned that foreign drivers do not seem to be paid for “down time”, as they sometimes are left to themselves in Norwegian parking lots for longer periods. Results from the small-scale survey indicated that fixed payment is more prevalent in both foreign groups of drivers compared with the Norwegian drivers in the sample. The wages of WE drivers (3217 Euro) on average was the double the salary of the drivers from CEE (1654 Euro). 0 5000 10000 15000 20000 25000 30000 Mont hl y w ages i n N O K

12 Working hours and fatigue

Results from literature review

A recent study of fatigue among transport operators shows that HGV drivers have long working days (Phillips, Sagberg & Bjørnskau 2015). In this study, HGV drivers reported an average work day lasting 10.6 hours. Many HGV drivers spend

considerable time on physical tasks (e.g. loading/unloading) in addition to driving. According to Steen Jensen et al. (2015) more than 40 % of Norwegian goods transport companies adjust working time of their employees depending on the contracts that they are working on. Moreover, widespread use of overtime establishes an impression of a business controlled by external actors/contract providers.

International research shows that between 36 and 64 % of professional drivers report having fallen asleep behind the wheel one time or another (Sagberg & Bjørnskau 2004: 2). The share is higher among professional drivers than among private drivers (23-52 %), as the former drive longer distances.

When asked if they have fallen asleep in the last 12 months, the share of private drivers answering “yes” varies internationally from between 8 and 29 %, while the shares of professional drivers are often higher (Sagberg & Bjørnskau 2004; Phillips & Sagberg, 2013). A Finnish survey (n=317 male drivers) showed that 40 % of long distance drivers reported dozing while driving at work in the past three months (DaCoTa, 2012).

Nordbakke (2004) found that 36 per cent of Norwegian professional drivers reported to have fallen asleep behind the wheel while driving at one time or another, while 16 % of the HGV drivers in the sample reported to have dozed off behind the wheel at least once during the preceding 12 months. This study included 1169 professional drivers (72 % bus and 28 % truck drivers).

Research seems to indicate that checks of driver compliance with rules on driver’s hours influence drivers’ compliance and thus their safety (Nævestad & Bjørnskau 2014). The companies in Nævestad & Bjørnskau’s study oversee drivers’ compliance with regulations relating to driving time and rest on a monthly or quarterly basis. Drivers must sign the output from their tachographs. Few of the drivers reported that they often violate regulations relating to driving time and rest. This could indicate that the companies’ control of drivers’ compliance with the rules is a purposeful way of controlling driving patterns and preventing violations. We do, however, not know if they have few violations because they are controller, or for other reasons. More research is needed on this issues, as we have not compared Norwegian and foreign companies’ control of drivers’ compliance with driver’s hours.

Results from the accident analysis

Condition of the drivers triggering fatal accidents

In the analysis of AAG data of fatal road accidents, we compared the conditions of the drivers triggering the fatal accidents.

It is difficult to say whether the condition of the drivers at the time of the accident varies according to whether they are Norwegian or foreign, because of the low numbers that the shares in this variable are based on (Figure 12.1). However, as is the case for the Norwegian drivers, time pressure, stress and fatigue, seem to be the most usual “abnormal” conditions for foreign professional drivers involved in fatal

accidents.

Figure 12.1 Share of professional drivers of different types involved in fatal accidents on Norwegian road between 2010 and 2013, according to their condition at the time of the accident.

Figure 12.1, indicates that fatigue and time pressure/stress is just as important, or more important in accidents triggered by foreign HGV drivers, as it is in accidents triggered by Norwegian drivers. Numbers are small, though.

Single vehicle accidents with personal injury

We have seen that foreign HGVs in general have a three times higher accident risk of single vehicle accidents than Norwegian HGVs. Single vehicle accidents is a special accident type, which often is related to a known set of causes. These accidents may typically be related to fatigue, falling asleep, distraction, too high speed for

conditions, illness, intoxication and so forth. Figure 12.2 shows the light conditions (daylight or darkness with or without road lights) for single vehicle accidents with Norwegian and foreign HGVs involved in police reported traffic accidents with personal injury in Norway 2007-2012.

82% 3% 4% 2% 1% 9% 79% 10% 10% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% Normal Time pressure / stress

Fatigue Under the influence of

alcohol or drugs

Illness No

information

Figure 12.2 Light conditions for single vehicle accidents with Norwegian (N= 494) and foreign HGVs (N= 101) involved in police reported traffic accidents with personal injury in Norway 2007-2012.

The figure indicates that a somewhat larger proportion of the foreign HGVs in single vehicle accidents are involved in accidents when it is dark. This could indicate a higher share of fatigue related accidents in this group, or poor lights or that more foreign drivers have accidents in the winter when there is less hours of day light. Figure 12.3 shows the time of day the accidents happened for single vehicle accidents with Norwegian and foreign HGVs involved in police reported traffic accidents with personal injury in Norway 2007-2012.

Figure 12.3 Time of day the accidents happened for single vehicle accidents with Norwegian (N= 507) and foreign HGVs (N= 103) involved in police reported traffic accidents with personal injury in Norway 2007- 2012.

The figure indicates that the foreign HGVs involved in single vehicle accidents to a larger extent than the Norwegian HGVs in single vehicle accidents occur in between 17:00 and midnight. 67% _62% 33% _38% 0 % 10 % 20 % 30 % 40 % 50 % 60 % 70 % 80 % 90 % 100 % Norway Foreign Darkness Day light 23% 54% 22% 24% 47% 29% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 00-07:59 08-16:59 17-23:59 Norway Foreign

Results from interviews

Compliance with rules on driving time and rest hours is regulated effectively and is relatively easy to control. Interviewees by and large agreed that they did not believe that there are notable difference between Norwegian and foreign compliance with these rules. One interviewee stated, however, that it seems that foreign drivers seem to be somewhat more inclined to violate rules on driving time and rest hours.

Foreign drivers are mainly engaged in long distance transport, and a possible risk factor that could lead to higher prevalence of fatigue among drivers involved in long distance transport is that if you follow slavishly the rules on driving time and rest hours while driving on an international transport over several days, you will drive through physiologically unfavourable times of day in order to maximize time spent driving.

This is provided that you take your required rests and maximize your opportunities to drive when the rules allow you to. Driving time and rest rules only require a certain number of rest hours and do not state when the rests should be taken. Thus, you may risk having to take your daily rest period in the middle of the day and drive in the night. Little is however known when it comes to how the foreign drivers solve this issue. One interviewee suggested that some foreign drivers may have a culture for driving in the day time while sleeping in the night.

Results from the small-scale survey