21 June – the longest day of the year – will be the 1st ETF Awareness Day on Driver Fatigue.
On 21 June 2023, the ETF launches the very first Awareness Day on Driver Fatigue in Europe. The ETF and its affiliates in the road sector aim to draw attention to how critical the problem of driver fatigue in road transport is.
21 June is the longest day of the year – but for professional drivers, the longest day is every day!
To raise public awareness of all these, the ETF and its affiliates in the road sector will organise several actions across Europe throughout the week of 19 – 25 June 2023. They will speak up, calling for urgent measures to raise standards and ensure decent work in the road transport sector.
Given the ongoing shortage of professional drivers in Europe, the issue of driver fatigue has become even more pressing. A 2021 ETF study indicates that chronic fatigue is the norm for professional drivers across Europe, with 60% of truck drivers and 66% of bus and coach drivers, of almost 2,900, reporting having been obliged to drive while fatigued regularly. According to the same study, poor working conditions, such as long working hours, irregular and long schedules, poor rest conditions and insufficient rest and breaks, are the leading causes of driver fatigue.
With the upcoming actions in road transport, ETF wants to send a straightforward message that the only answer to addressing driver fatigue – primarily caused by poor working conditions – is ensuring drivers work under good conditions, are paid fairly and are protected by fair rules. Furthermore, improving drivers’ working conditions is essential for retaining and attracting new drivers to the profession, with direct benefits for professional drivers’ well-being and road safety in general.
More information about the ETF’s Driver Fatigue Study can be found here.
