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One in six bus drivers has fallen asleep driving at least once in the last year, a survey reveals.

And one in five (21%) “fight sleepiness” at least two or three times a week.

The report also found 36% had a “close call” on the roads due to tiredness in the past year. One in 20 (5%) had been in at least one accident in the past year because of fatigue.

Loughborough University surveyed 1,353 of London’s 25,000 bus drivers for Transport for London and concluded fatigue was “a problem”.

Researchers said factors included prolonged driving conditions, 24-hour operations and congestion.

(Image: Getty)

The giant Unite union, which represents most bus drivers, pressed for the ground-breaking study after raising concerns about fatigue with Transport for London and has welcomed the findings.

Unite says major causes of fatigue are workers undertaking excessive hours due to inadequate levels of pay, a lack of recovery time between poorly scheduled shifts and overly long shifts without sufficient rest breaks.

Union officials are pressing London’s 10 bus operators introduce civilised rotas, provide decent driver facilities and replace ‘disciplinarian culture’ in garages with a more worker-friendly one.

Unite regional officer John Murphy said: “TfL must take decisive action and force bus operators to stop flogging their workers to the point of exhaustion.

“The safety of the general public and workers is being placed at risk because of fatigue being suffered by London bus drivers.

“The low pay culture is a fundamental source of fatigue. No one wants to work long hours but drivers are forced to do so to make ends meet.

“To tackle low pay across the board TfL needs to be establishing London wide pay rates for all drivers.

“Fatigue is not going to be tackled unless the standard five and half hour shifts without a break are ended and shift patterns allow drivers adequate time to recover.“

The report states that at the time of review none of the 10 operators had a formal or specific fatigue policy,

And it adds:”However, most operators recognised that fatigue was an issue that needed to be addressed.

“Although all operators are following legislations relating to driving hours and rest periods, only two operators reported having additional parameters in place to ensure drivers do not become fatigued.”

The study warns that bus drivers are exposed to a wide-range of factors “that potentially increase their

vulnerability to fatigue,”

They include; prolonged driving conditions, 24-hour operations, variable shift patterns, and urban traffic congestion.

The nature of the job also limits the degree of control that drivers have over the timing of breaks, their sleeping patterns, diet and opportunity to exercise, which can further exacerbate the risk of fatigue-related problems.

In response to the report TfL will demand from 2020 that all bus operators demonstrate robust systems to reduce the risk of fatigue.

And it will make £500,000 available to help operators find solutions to reduce fatigue. There is a new starter minimum wage of £23,000 for drivers and a £6m programme to provide permanent toilets for drivers is being rolled out on bus routes.

Claire Mann, Director of Bus Operations at TfL, said: “This report builds on the issues that Unite the union raised, and allows the whole industry to go one step further.

“With the evidence from this study, we will require bus operators to have fatigue risk management systems and more formal fatigue training for managers.”