Form FRA F 245 FRA F 245 Fatigue and Safety of Locomotive Engineers & Conductors

The Impact of Commute Times on the Fatigue and Safety of Locomotive Engineers and Conductors

FRA F 245

QUESTIONNAIRE

OMB: 2130-0628

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OMB CONTROL NUMBER: 2130-0628 EXPIRATION DATE: 09/30/2022

Paperwork Reduction Act Burden Statement A federal agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, nor shall a person be subject to a penalty for failure to comply with a collection of information subject to the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act

unless that collection of information displays a currently valid OMB Control Number. The OMB Control Number for this information collection is 2130-0628. Public reporting for this collection of information is estimated to be approximately 20 minutes per scenario, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, completing and reviewing the collection of information. All responses to this collection of information are voluntary. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden to: Information Collection Clearance Officer, Federal Railroad Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE, Washington DC 20590.


FATIGUE AND SAFETY OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERS & CONDUCTORS QUESTIONNAIRE

  1. How old are you?

    • Less than 25 years

    • 25 to 34 years

    • 35 to 44 years

    • 45 to 54 years

    • 55 to 64 years

    • 65 + years

  2. What is your gender?

    • Male

    • Female

  3. Are you a:

    • Locomotive engineer

    • Conductor

  4. Do you work on a:

    • Freight train

    • Passenger train

  5. In total, how long have you worked as a locomotive engineer or conductor?

    • _______________ years ____________ months

  6. In total, how long have you worked in the rail industry?

    • _______________ years ____________ months

ANSWER THE NEXT SET OF QUESTIONS THINKING ABOUT THE LAST MONTH OF WORK:

  1. In the LAST MONTH, how many hours per day did you usually work (i.e., sign on to sign off)?

_____________ hours

  1. In the LAST MONTH, how many days per week did you usually work?

____________ days

  1. In the LAST MONTH, which category best describes your usual work?

    • Majority of work is at night

    • Majority of work is in the day

    • Regular rotating work (tours of duty switch between day and night on a regular roster)

    • Very irregular work (i.e., tours of duty have no regular pattern)

  2. In the LAST MONTH, how many times were you called in for work on your days off?

______________________ number of times called in for work

  1. In the LAST MONTH, how much did the start time of your tours of duty vary from day to day?

    • Less than 2 hours

    • 2 hours or more, but less than 4 hours

    • 4 hours or more, but less than 8 hours

    • 8 hours or more

  2. In the LAST MONTH, how often did your tours of duty change from day work to night work during a one-week period?

    • Zero times

    • Once

    • Twice

    • More than two times

  3. On average, in the LAST MONTH, how many hours did you sleep per day (i.e., in a 24-hour period) during your work week?

__________________ hours

  1. Was this sleep typically during the daytime or nighttime?

    • Day

    • Night

The following statements are about your experience of FATIGUE and STRAIN at work OVER THE LAST FEW MONTHS.

Choose from “Strongly Disagree” to “Strongly Agree” which best indicates your response.

  1. I never have enough time between work shifts to recover my energy completely

|___________|___________|___________|___________|___________|___________|

Strongly Disagree Slightly Neither Agree Slightly Agree Strongly

Disagree Disagree or Disagree Agree Agree

  1. I usually feel exhausted when I get home from work

|___________|___________|___________|___________|___________|___________|

Strongly Disagree Slightly Neither Agree Slightly Agree Strongly

Disagree Disagree or Disagree Agree Agree

  1. Even if I’m tired from one shift, I’m usually refreshed by the start of the next shift

|___________|___________|___________|___________|___________|___________|

Strongly Disagree Slightly Neither Agree Slightly Agree Strongly

Disagree Disagree or Disagree Agree Agree

  1. I rarely recover my energy fully between work shifts

|___________|___________|___________|___________|___________|___________|

Strongly Disagree Slightly Neither Agree Slightly Agree Strongly

Disagree Disagree or Disagree Agree Agree

  1. Recovering from work fatigue between work shifts isn’t a problem for me

|___________|___________|___________|___________|___________|___________|

Strongly Disagree Slightly Neither Agree Slightly Agree Strongly

Disagree Disagree or Disagree Agree Agree

  1. I’m often still feeling fatigued from one shift by the time I start the next one

|___________|___________|___________|___________|___________|___________|

Strongly Disagree Slightly Neither Agree Slightly Agree Strongly

Disagree Disagree or Disagree Agree Agree

  1. In the LAST MONTH, how did you normally commute from home to work/from work to home? (Tick main mode of transport)

    • Drive my own car

    • Drive my own motorcycle

    • Public transportation (train, bus, etc.)

    • Car/van pool

    • Ride a bicycle

    • Walk

    • Other

  2. In the LAST MONTH, if you drove your own car, did you normally commute to/from work alone?

    • Usually alone

    • Not usually alone

    • N/A – I didn’t drive my own car

  3. In the LAST MONTH, on how many days during a work week did you commute from home to work?

    • 1

    • 2

    • 3

    • 4

    • 5

    • 6

    • 7

  4. In the LAST MONTH, on days when you commuted to work, how long did it usually take you to get:

    • To work from home? ______________ minutes

    • To home from work? _______________ minutes

  5. Did you typically make stops or detours during your commute to work from home? (e.g., stop at shops, pick up/drop off children)

    • Yes

    • No

  6. Did you typically make stops or detours during your commute to home from work? (e.g., stop at shops, pick up/drop off children)

    • Yes

    • No

  7. In the LAST MONTH, approximately how many miles was your commute, one way?

____________ miles

ANSWER THE NEXT SET OF QUESTIONS THINKING ABOUT THE LAST SIX MONTHS OF WORK:

  1. In the LAST 6 MONTHS, how frequently have you felt too tired to drive home after work?

    • After every tour of duty

    • Several times a week

    • About once a week

    • Once every few weeks

    • Once every couple of months

    • Rarely (i.e., once in 6 months)

    • Never

  2. In the LAST 6 MONTHS, during your commute to work from home have you: (Tick all that apply)

Crashed

Fallen asleep while driving

Felt drowsy

Pulled over to take a nap

Nearly had a crash

Fallen asleep while stopped at a red light

Fallen asleep while stopped in traffic

Had to have a nap at home before driving to work

Drifted out of the lane of traffic

Run off the road in your vehicle


  1. In the LAST 6 MONTHS, during your commute to home from work have you: (Tick all that apply)

Crashed

Fallen asleep while driving

Felt drowsy

Pulled over to take a nap

Nearly had a crash

Fallen asleep while stopped at a red light

Fallen asleep while stopped in traffic

Had to have a nap at work before driving home

Drifted out of the lane of traffic

Run off the road in your vehicle


  1. In the LAST 6 MONTHS, how often have you experienced fatigue while operating a train?

    • Every tour of duty

    • On most tours of duty

    • About half the tours of duty

    • Occasionally

    • Rarely

    • Never

  2. To what degree do you think fatigue impacts your operation of a train?

    • No impact

    • A minimal impact

    • Moderate impact

    • A significant impact

  3. In the LAST 6 MONTHS, when were you most likely to experience fatigue while operating a train? Tick all that apply

Early morning (3am to 6am)

If I’m feeling bored

Morning (6am to 12pm)

If I haven’t had enough sleep

Early afternoon (12pm to 3pm)

If I started work really early in the morning

Late afternoon (3pm to 6pm)

Towards the end of a long tour of duty

Evening (6pm to 9pm)

If I operate on the same route a few times in a row

Night (9pm to 12am)

If I started work late in the evening

Late night (12am to 3am)

After a long commute to work

After extended limbo or deadheading time

Other:_______________________________


  1. In the LAST 6 MONTHS, how long after the start of your tour of duty were you most likely to feel fatigued?

________________ hours

  1. In the LAST 6 MONTHS, what factors contributed most to your fatigue at work? Tick all that apply

Night work

Irregular work

Long work hours

Not enough sleep before work

Long commute to work

Work starting early morning (i.e., before dawn)

Long commute to home

Boredom / monotony

Stress

Insufficient rest away from home

Not enough time off between work

Poor train cab design

Social life during days off

Not enough rest breaks

Excessive limbo or deadheading time

Being called into work on days off


  1. In the LAST 6 MONTHS, have you experienced a fatigue-related safety incident when operating a train?

    • Yes

    • No

  2. If yes, what happened?

    • Missed signal

    • Crash

    • Near miss

    • Nodded off while controlling the train

    • Missed designated stop

    • Late braking for designated stop

    • Going too fast

    • Other: _____________________________________________________

  3. Did you report the incident?

    • Yes

    • No

  4. Does your company offer an anonymous reporting system for fatigue-related or safety-related incidents?

    • Yes

    • No

    • Not sure

  5. In the LAST 6 MONTHS, how often do you use each of the following strategies to cope with fatigue when operating a train? (Rate each strategy separately)


Never

Rarely

Sometimes

Often

Always

Listen to music

Eat or snack while operating train

Drink caffeine (e.g., coffee, black tea)

Make additional effort to focus

Adjust the ventilation (e.g., turn on air con or open window)

Use over the counter stimulant (e.g., NoDoze)

Take a quick nap

Drink energy drinks (e.g., Red Bull, Monster, 5-Hour Energy)

Talk to conductor or engineer

Stand while operating train

Talk on cell phone

Move body (i.e., walk, stretch, exercise)

Play games/use apps on cell phone

Smoke/chew tobacco



  1. In your opinion, how effective are the following strategies to reduce fatigue while operating a train (i.e., regardless of whether you use the strategy)? (Rate each strategy separately)


Never

effective

Slightly

effective

Somewhat

effective

Effective

Very

effective

Listen to music

Eat or snack while operating train

Drink caffeine (e.g., coffee, black tea)

Make additional effort to focus

Adjust the ventilation (e.g., turn on air con or open window)

Use over the counter stimulant (e.g., NoDoze)

Take a quick nap

Drink energy drinks (e.g., Red Bull, Monster, 5-Hour Energy)

Talk to conductor or engineer

Stand while operating train

Talk on cell phone

Move body (i.e., walk, stretch, exercise)

Play games/use apps on cell phone

Smoke/chew tobacco



  1. Does your company provide you with a computer train line-up?

    • Yes

    • No

    • Not sure

  2. How reliable is the information provided in the computer train line-up?

    • Very reliable

    • Somewhat reliable

    • Not particularly reliable or unreliable

    • Somewhat unreliable

    • Very unreliable

  3. In the LAST MONTH, what percentage of computer train line-ups you received were accurate?

    • ________ %

  4. Does your current company have a fatigue management policy?

    • Yes

    • No

    • Not sure

  5. Does your current company educate employees about fatigue?

    • Yes

    • No

    • Not sure

  6. How much of a problem is fatigue for YOU PERSONALLY in your job?

    • A major problem

    • A substantial problem

    • A minor problem

    • Not a problem at all

  7. How much of a problem is fatigue for locomotive engineers and conductors IN GENERAL?

    • A major problem

    • A substantial problem

    • A minor problem

    • Not a problem at all

  8. How well do you believe fatigue is managed in the rail industry?

    • Extremely badly

    • Quite badly

    • Ok

    • Quite well

    • Extremely well

FRA F 245 (02/22)

File Typeapplication/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document
AuthorToone, Kim (FRA)
File Modified0000-00-00
File Created2022-02-10

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