What is a driver fatigue management plan?
A fatigue management plan is the written set of rules a company uses to keep tired drivers off the road. It covers the limits on driving and work, the rest between shifts, how fitness is checked before a shift, how fatigue is detected during the trip, and what happens after a fatigue event.
A driving hours log records what happened. This plan works before the trip: it stops a roster that breaks the limits from going out, and gives the supervisor a clear way to stand down a driver who is not fit to drive.
Which driving and rest limits go in the plan?
Section 2 is a table where you write the limits that apply to your activity, with the source and the date you checked it. Your company limits in section 4 then sit at or below the strictest of them. The workbook's Settings sheet carries example values with their sources:
| Limit | Example | Source of the example |
|---|---|---|
| Driving per day | 9 h | TGA limits as reported in the Saudi press |
| Continuous driving, then break | 4.5 h, then 45 min | TGA limits as reported in the Saudi press |
| Rest between shifts | 11 h | TGA limits as reported in the Saudi press |
| Driving in 7 days | 56 h | TGA limits as reported in the Saudi press |
| Work days in 7 | 6 | Argaam, bus driver rules |
| Sleep before a shift | 5 h in 24 h, 12 h in 48 h | Prior sleep-wake model (Prof. D. Dawson) |
| Longest shift, night window | 12 h, 22:00 to 06:00 | Company choice, no regulatory source |
Sources: Al Bilad, 23 March 2025; Argaam, 31 January 2023; Al Yaum, 17 July 2018; Royal Aeronautical Society Human Factors Group, fatigue paper (2012). The Saudi goods transport regulation describes the TGA electronic platform as monitoring drivers' driving and rest periods (Art. 1(44)), and Abu Dhabi Resolution No. 74 of 2021 (Art. 4(7)) requires carriers to keep records of drivers' working, driving and rest hours. Rules differ by activity and change, so check your authority's and your client's current requirement.
How to use the fatigue management plan
- Fill in sections 1 to 4: scope, the limits that apply to you, who is responsible, and your roster rules.
- Agree the pre-shift check and the event response with supervisors and your HSE lead, then approve the plan.
- Brief drivers on the warning signs, the right to stop and how to report, and give each one the pre-shift declaration.
- Check every roster in the workbook before you publish it, and change any flagged shift.
- Log the pre-shift checks and every fatigue event, and close each corrective action.
- Review the monthly summary, starting with drivers who have two or more items.
How does the workbook check a roster?
Each shift is one row with the start and end as date and time. The workbook compares every row with the limits on Settings, so any change you make there flows through.
The roster check counts one row per shift, so two shifts on the same day count as two work days. Continuous driving and breaks are not checked from the roster; they belong in the trip plan and in your tracking system's alarms.
Worked example: a roster that looks normal
R. Kumar drives the day shift from Sunday 4 October, 06:00 to 16:00, every day. On Saturday 10 October the roster shows his seventh shift in seven days: Too many work days.
- Sunday 11 October: his shift moves to 08:00 to 19:30. Shift length 11.5 hours, still within 12.
- Monday 12 October: an early job is added at 05:00 to 17:30. Rest since 19:30 is 9.5 hours, below 11, and the shift is 12.5 hours, over 12. Planned driving is 9.5 hours, over 9.
- Fit-for-duty that morning: he slept 6 hours in the last 24 and 13 in the last 48, so the log suggests Fit to start. The roster, not his sleep, is the problem.
- Fatigue event: at 16:50 he reports drowsiness. The cause is recorded as the roster, and the corrective action is one rest day in every 6 days.
Checked before publishing, the roster would have shown four flags on that Monday, and the early job could have gone to another driver.
Common mistakes in fatigue management
- Treating hours as the whole plan. A driver within every limit can still be unfit after a bad night. The pre-shift check catches that.
- Adding jobs after the roster is checked. Recheck the roster whenever a shift changes.
- Punishing self-reports. Drivers stop reporting, and fatigue stays hidden until an incident.
- Relying on coffee and air conditioning. They do not remove fatigue. Only sleep does.
- Copying limits without a source. Write where each limit comes from and when you checked it.
What the plan does not do
The plan and workbook are planning and follow-up tools. They are not legal advice, and the fitness check is not a medical assessment: health concerns go to an occupational health provider. The workbook does not check extended driving days, split breaks or continuous driving within a shift. For a quick check of one driver's schedule use the Driving and Rest Hours Checker, and to record actual hours use the Daily Driving and Rest Hours Log.