In an ever-changing regulatory environment, the trucking industry is taking a new look at the power of cognitive testing when it comes to assessing impairment risks.
A commercial driver typically makes nearly 18,000 decisions every day, according to Marilyn Surber, vice president of sales and marketing for Driver’s Legal Plan. Surber spoke on the topic Tuesday, April 1, during the National Association of Publicly Funded Truck Driving Schools Annual Conference in Daytona Beach, Florida.
“What (do) we know about that driver’s mental state and their cognition and their actual physical ability to do that job on any given day, when they get behind the wheel to make those 18,000 decisions that determine so much for all of us in this room?” Surber asked the group during a conference panel.
Operating under the impairment of alcohol, fatigue, drugs and other factors can seriously impact a driver’s time on the road. It can even lead to fatal consequences.
In addition, according Surber, there is much more to impairment than the influence of drugs or alcohol.
“It’s so much broader,” she said. “Cell phone fatigue, all of these things are part of impairment.”
Surber says the ability to process stimuli is an important factor when thinking about cognitive testing for drivers. Cognitive testing is an additional tool to have in a driver’s toolbox to ensure a driver is operating safely.
New testing methods, such as mobile technology, now provide an easy way to test a driver’s cognitive abilities.
“You can dispatch a test to a driver’s phone or tablet, and they can complete it in less than five minutes,” Surber said, pointing to testing services provided by companies such as Neurapulse.
In short, she says, cognitive testing helps determine whether a driver can safely operate a vehicle. However, it does not measure a driver’s level of physical health or stamina, things that are vital to drivers as they climb in and out of the cab, secure loads and perform other tasks.
Surber compares cognitive and impairment testing to a driver’s pre-trip inspection.
“You’ve gotta check your load, check your tires. You’ve gotta get out and make sure it’s OK,” she said. “We have check engine lights; we have all the things for equipment.
“I want you to think of impairment assessments as a ‘check engine’ light for your driver,” she continued. “Your driver is getting up every day and they’re coming to school, or they’re going to work and they’re getting behind the wheel. What pre-trip did we do on them?”
Marijuana Usage in the Trucking Industry
With changing attitudes and regulations about marijuana usage, Surber noted that standards for marijuana impairment testing will heavily impact the industry.
“The reclassification of marijuana to a different schedule of drug will change everything that we know about marijuana,” Surber said. “It’ll be in prescriptions; it’ll be in all kinds of things?”
Defining a standard for measuring impairment due to marijuana use is imperative.
“We have to be able to measure it roadside or in some real way,” she said. “I think that that will be the driving issue. That conversation will be what pushes this technology to the forefront.
“Almost 200,000 drivers have been eliminated from our workforce through the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse, primarily because of marijuana,” she continued. “As an industry, we have to find some way to attack this problem.”
Impairment Is Not Just Drug or Alcohol Usage
According to Surber, impairment is not limited to substance usage. It can also be a driver who’s not in the best frame of mind due to other circumstances, such as a family issue or other life events.
“How we’re defining impairment is when an individual loses their functional ability to operate safely within a given environment,” she said, citing as an example, a driver who has worked for a carrier for years and who has a good driving record.
“All of a sudden, they start (seeing) lane departures, hard braking events — what’s going on with that driver? I know this is not typical behavior. Something is going on,” she said, adding that cognitive testing can help pinpoint the root causes of such changes.
“It is our responsibility to make sure these drivers are in the right frame of mind, and truck companies are dealing with that right now in … one way or another,” she said. “
According to Surber, cognitive assessments help fleets determine:
- What is the reaction time of the driver?
- How do they respond?
- What are they thinking about?
- Can they remember? What are they learning?
Such assessments can open the door for a dialogue with drivers to see what is really going on in their lives that might affect their operational abilities.
“What you’re going to do is you’re going to pick up the phone and call the driver and say, ‘Hey driver, what’s going on with you? Tell me about this,’” Surber said.
“That’s how you find out about the nasty divorce that they’re going through,” she continued. “Or you find out that they just got diagnosed with some kind of medical issue that you didn’t know about, or maybe they need to go to see their doctor because they’re not feeling right.”
These assessments and conversations open a line of communication between managers and drivers to help ensure drivers are physically and mentally fit to do their jobs. The ultimate goal, she says, is to identify issues, address them and correct them.
Drivers need to know their managers are working to help them: “We’re getting ahead of something that is going on with you and sending you to get the help you need so that you can return to work and drive safely up and down the road,” she said.
Dana Guthrie is an award-winning journalist who has been featured in multiple newspapers, books and magazines across the globe. She is currently based in the Atlanta, Georgia, area.
