Factors Related to Fatigue among Tram-Drivers in a University in Pathumthani Province

Abstract

This cross-sectional research was conducted to determine: 1) fatigue level; and 2) factors related to fatigue among tram drivers. The participants
were 20 tram-drivers of a University. The tools used in this study were as follows: interviewing form with personal data, work environment
information, and subjective feeling of fatigue test. Critical Flicker Frequency test (CFF) was used for measuring the brain fatigue. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation coeffcient, and Chi-square were used for the statistical data analysis at the signifcant level of 0.05.

From the fndings, all samples were; 1) male, married with the average age of 52.2 years. The participants had less than 7 hours of sleeping,
but more than 8 hours of driving per day. The subjective feeling of fatigue after work was at the  low level and the average CFF was 33.96 cycles persecond. The fatigue evaluation using CFF together with the assessment of Piper guidelines implies that the tram-drivers feel fatigued after driving; and 2) the only one personal factor related to CFF was hours of sleep (= 4.432, p = .035). Factors related to subjective feeling of fatigue were marital status (= 4.804, p = .028), education level (= 4.314, p = .023), and number of driving cycles (r = -.446). Based on these fndings, in order to reduce fatigue for drivers, the organization should revise the number of driving cycles by setting the appropriate driving-rest cycles. In addition, the drivers should be educated about factors that cause fatigue and how to handle them, especially about having enough sleep.