FRA F 245 Fatigue and Safety of Locomotive Engineers & Conductors

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

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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:

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

_____________ hours

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

____________ days

9. 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)

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

______________________ number of times called in for work

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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.

15. 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

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

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

Strongly Disagree Slightly Neither Agree Slightly Agree Strongly

Disagree Disagree or Disagree Agree Agree

17. 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

18. I rarely recover my energy fully between work shifts

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

Strongly Disagree Slightly Neither Agree Slightly Agree Strongly

Disagree Disagree or Disagree Agree Agree

19. 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

20. 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

21. 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

22. 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

23. 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

24. 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

25. 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

26. 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

27. 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:

28. 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

29. 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

30. 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

31. 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

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

    • No impact

    • A minimal impact

    • Moderate impact

    • A significant impact

33. 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:_______________________________

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

________________ hours

35. 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

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

    • Yes

    • No

37. 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: _____________________________________________________

38. Did you report the incident?

    • Yes

    • No

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

    • Yes

    • No

    • Not sure

40. 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					

41. 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					

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

    • Yes

    • No

    • Not sure

43. 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

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

    • ________ %

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

    • Yes

    • No

    • Not sure

46. Does your current company educate employees about fatigue?

    • Yes

    • No

    • Not sure

47. 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

48. 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

49. 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)