Definite links have also been made between stress and fatigue. Fatigue is a major problem for truck drivers, and because of this you need to take steps to control your stress as a factor of controlling the onset of fatigue.
There are many definitions of stress and many theories about what causes it, but workplace stress can be defined as the result of the interaction between a person and their work environment. For the person it is the awareness of not being able to cope with the demands of their work environment, with an associated negative emotional response.
In relation to driving, stress can be interpreted as the inability to cope with the many demands placed on a driver undertaking the complex task of driving. One commonly talked about example is ‘road rage’.
There are a number of tests to determine if you are prone to stress or have a low stress tolerance. These tests can include accident risk management profiling, which is used as an employment tool by many of today's transport operators. However, personal stress can be identified by answering these questions:
If you answer yes to these questions, then you may be suffering from stress.
If you are experiencing stress, and it is affecting your job or out of work activities, this is called stress overload and you must take action to control the causes of the stress. It is strongly suggested that you see your doctor before stress takes control of your life and perhaps ruins it, or someone else's life.
Drivers will often show that they are under stress by aggressive driving, often culminating in road rage.
Aggressive driving consists of practices exhibited by high-risk drivers who use the anonymity of a vehicle to take out their frustrations on others. For them, frustration levels are high, and their level of concern for other road users is low.
Aggressive drivers don't bother stopping at Stop signs and red lights. They speed, tailgate, weave in and out of traffic, pass on the left, make improper and unsafe lane changes, make hand and facial gestures, scream, blow their horn, and flash their lights. They drive at speeds far in excess of what is safe, which causes them to follow too closely, change lanes frequently and abruptly without notice (ie, they don't use signals). They pass on the shoulder or unpaved portions of the roadway and stare at and/or threaten (verbally or through gestures) other motorists who are thoughtless enough to be in front of them.
Page created: 27 January 2009
