Attachment O - Initial Contact Form

Participant ID: __________

OMB NO: XXXX-XXXX

Expiration Date: mm/dd/yyyy

Flexible Sleeper Berth – Initial Contact Form

Date: ______ / ______ / ______

Caller: _______________________________

Script:

Hello, I work for [VTTI or WSU] and am calling you in regard to the Sleeper Berth pilot study that you applied for online. Are you still interested in participating in this study? _____

This study is being conducted for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) by Virginia Tech and Washington State University. The purpose is to provide drivers with greater regulatory flexibility and measure the impact on sleep and performance. If you are enrolled in the study, you will temporarily be given this regulatory flexibility through an exemption to the sleeper berth provision found in Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations Part 395. During each duty period, you will be allowed to operate under the current regulations (as you are presently required) or under the study-related exemption. During each duty period that you choose to operate under the exemption, you will still be required to obtain 10 hours for rest in your sleeper berth, but you may split this between two rest periods, so long as neither is less than 3 hours and the total is 10 hours or more. You will be given the freedom to choose which of the two options to operate under during each duty period based on your schedule and sleep needs. In other words, you may choose to abide by the current regulations and have a 10-hour consolidated rest period on one duty day and to abide by the split sleep option with two 5-hour rest periods (for example) on the next duty day.

You will be asked to drive your normal truck for 90 days with a dash cam system installed that will record event-based video and audio surrounding hard braking, sharp steering movement, speeding 10 mph or more over the posted limit, and random baselines. Recordings will be made for the 15 seconds before an event and 15 seconds after an event.

You will be provided with a smartphone that is equipped with study-related apps. We will ask you to perform a short, 3-minute reaction time test on the study-provided smartphone three or four times per day, depending on your sleep schedule. On the smartphone, you will also report your sleepiness, caffeine consumption, and sleep times. You will also be required to wear an activity monitor on your wrist that will measure your sleep times. Your daily commitment will be 30 minutes or less. At the end of each week, we will ask you to call a member of the research team to check in at a time that is convenient for you.

You will also be provided with a custom electronic logging device that is capable of handling the exemption to the hours-of-service rules. You will receive an exemption from FMCSA which will temporarily allow you to continue using your current ELD in addition to the study-provided ELD.

Note that your company and FMCSA will be aware of the dates of your participation but will not receive any of your study data. You will be paid up to $600 for completing this pilot study.

Does this sound like something you’d be interested in?

Yes_____ No______

If yes, continue below.

If no, thank them for their time and hang up.

I’d like to verify the information that you have submitted and make sure you are eligible to participate.

• Do you currently work for [Fleet Name]? Y N

• Do you have any plans to leave this company in the next 3 months? Y N

• Do you regularly drive a truck equipped with a sleeper berth? Y N

• Do you regularly use your sleeper berth? Y N

• Would you be willing to participate in both a three-month on-road study? Y N

• Would you be willing to perform a 3-min reaction time test on a smartphone three to four times per day? Y N

• Would you be willing to document your sleep and wake times each day, as well as your sleepiness and caffeine use? Y N

If the driver answers no to any of the above, tell them they are not eligible to participate and thank them for their time.

Great, let’s find a time to meet so you can start participation, we will need about 45 minutes of your time to get you signed up.

Schedule time based on driver’s availability and study schedule.

Scheduled briefing date/time: ____/____/____ ____:____

Scheduled briefing location: _______________________

Notes:____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Thank you for your time today, a researcher will meet with you on [scheduled date & time].

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