Truck drivers work 90-hour weeks

Many long distance truck
drivers in South Africa are
working up 90 hour weeks,
with less than five hours’ sleep a
night, according to Elna Fourie,
South African National Roads
Agency Limited (Sanral) Road
Safety and Awareness manager.
She was speaking at a
Chekicoast Road Safety
outreach hosted at the N2
Engen Mayibuye Truck Stop in
Port Elizabeth.
The Eastern Cape has one of
the country’s highest accident
rates, according to Fourie.
“A recent Wits university
study showed that three
quarters of truck drivers
reported fatigue on the job due
to prolonged working hours.
“In addition, the study finds
that some truck drivers work
90 hours a week, and that half
of truck drivers get less than
five hours of sleep per day,” said
Fourie.
A separate study into the
causes of road accidents
found that human error was
responsible for 78%, with
the next-largest cause being
mechanical failure at 10%.