A driver calls at 2 a.m. and says, "I'm too tired to keep going." Who answers, and can that person change the trip so the driver can rest?
In my fleet experience, a "don't drive tired" rule only meant something when we backed it up. Sometimes that meant changing the trip or asking the customer to move a delivery appointment so the truck could unload whenever a dock opened. Other times it meant keeping a driver away from family longer so they could rest. Those were hard calls. The company had to make rest possible instead of leaving the driver to figure it out.
A written driver fatigue policy names who takes the call, who can authorize a change to the trip, and how the driver gets time to rest. Those answers belong in writing, not in decisions you scramble to make when the call comes in.
This post offers general guidance based on research and fleet experience. It isn't legal advice. Before you adopt or change a fatigue policy, have your legal and HR teams review it against the federal, state, and local rules that apply to your business.
Fatigue belongs in every conversation about driving for work, not just commercial trucking. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) notes that workers in most other jobs aren't covered by regulations intended to reduce driver fatigue, so the company has to supply the response.
A policy only helps if people know it exists. In a NIOSH survey of 500 oil and gas workers, only 42% of those who drove for work said their employer had a fatigue management policy. Another 35% didn't know whether one existed. That's one industry, but it raises a fair question: do your employees know who to call?
The National Sleep Foundation (NSF) position statement calls on employers to educate workers, address commutes, and promote fatigue management programs. A study of 70 company fleets found an association between fatigue mitigation practices and lower collision and injury rates. That's an association, not proof of cause, but it's a reason to examine how you manage fatigue today. So when someone says, "I'm too tired to keep going," what happens next?
Start with the work, not the wording. Where do night work, long commutes, split shifts, on-call periods, or peak-season demands put rest under pressure? Then trace what happened the last few times a driver said they were too tired. That shows how your fleet handles fatigue today, not just what the handbook says.
The causes differ by fleet. SambaSafety's Fleet Risk Management Academy teaches this through root cause analysis. After a fatigue-related crash on an over-the-road route, I'd look at dispatch schedules. In a school bus fleet, I'd look at route timing and split shifts, and in a gig fleet, platform pressure.
Then build the policy around three questions: who takes the call, who can change the trip, and how the driver gets time to rest. If you already have a Fit for Duty policy, which covers whether a driver is ready to work, or safety management program, build fatigue into it.
Scope and ownership. Decide who is covered: drivers and other employees who drive for work. Ask counsel how to handle contractors and temporary workers. Assign someone to receive fatigue reports at any hour, plus a backup with real authority if that person doesn’t answer. Whoever answers confirms the driver is safe, then changes the trip or arranges relief.
Manager and dispatcher conduct. You can't ask drivers to report fatigue and then pressure them to keep going. Support the stop, avoid incentives that reward driving tired, and save detailed calls for when the driver is stopped or hands-free.
Sleep education. Cover how sleep affects alertness and why coffee or a quick break can't replace it. NIOSH recommends sleep health and fatigue management training and an adult target of 7 to 9 hours of sleep. Pair it with training on the warning signs of fatigued driving.
Schedules that allow regular rest. Set limits on overtime and consecutive shifts, leave time between shifts for commuting and sleep, and limit night driving where you can. The Network of Employers for Traffic Safety (NETS) notes that shift workers need at least 11 hours between shifts for seven hours of sleep. Where shifts rotate, move them clockwise, from mornings to afternoons to evenings. Plan for delays, too. A driver who waits hours to load or unload, often unpaid, loses rest even when the plan looked fine. Decide how waiting time is treated and who can move an appointment.
Readiness check. A short pre-trip question about sleep and time awake gives you a starting point, with or without technology. It isn't clearance to drive. If someone says they haven't slept well, ask what support they need.
No-penalty rule. A driver who reports fatigue in good faith or stops to rest gets help changing the trip, not discipline, even when a delivery runs late. NIOSH says workers and contractors shouldn't be penalized for using stop-work authority to avoid fatigued driving. It also describes fatigue as a normal biological response, not a reflection of job performance. Spell out in writing how a stop affects pay, on-time metrics, and the load, and promise only what the company will do.
The driver reports fatigue, illness, or impairment to a supervisor before driving. The company accommodates the report without discipline, whether by calling in another driver or adjusting the schedule.
SambaSafety's Fleet Risk Management Academy, Level 100
Rest and relief resources. "Stop somewhere safe" needs a plan behind it. Identify rest locations on common routes, decide when relief or lodging is authorized and who approves it, and work with customers on appointment flexibility.
Medical evaluation. Offer a voluntary, confidential route to evaluate sleep concerns, including sleep apnea. Say who pays, who sees results, and how you’ll prevent retaliation. Have counsel review the process.
Everyone who drives for work belongs in the policy, not just people in company vehicles. That includes rental cars, borrowed trucks, and employees' own vehicles under mileage reimbursement, which fall under hired and non-owned exposure. That exposure is easy to miss when you only count vehicles titled to the company. These trips may have no telematics feed or schedule review.
Look at the full day, including the drive home. In the same NIOSH survey, more than 60% of employees worked 12 or more hours a day, and the average commute was 1.82 hours round trip. Longer commutes, nonstandard schedules, and no known maximum-hours policy were each associated with feeling very drowsy or falling asleep while driving for work. The sample wasn't random, so treat the findings as context, not proof of cause.
Put it in writing. Give employees in personal or rented vehicles the same reporting route and no-penalty protection as your drivers. Keep it to one page: if you're too tired to drive safely, stop and call this person, with no penalty.
Count work and driving together. Use schedule, payroll, and mileage or expense records to see combined work, driving, and commute demands. Most employees who drive for work have no federal driving-hour limit, so set your own written cap on combined hours.
Cover the drive home. Offer options: rest before leaving, lodging reimbursement, or a rested driver or arranged transportation after a long shift. NETS suggests setting a clear trigger for when to use them, such as being awake for more than 20 hours. Options only work if people use them, and workers may decline because they want to get home. I know that tension from holding drivers back when home was only a few hours away. Decide who approves and pays in advance, so the safer choice is the easier one.
Ask whether the trip is needed. That question is the start of journey management. Before adding a long drive to a long day, ask whether a call, a reschedule, or an overnight stay would do the job.
A policy only protects people when it's followed. When practice drifts from the page, drivers carry the risk, and counsel can advise on the legal implications. Give one person ownership of the fatigue review, look at fatigue reports and responses monthly, and test whether the policy works in practice once a year.
You don't need a complete program to begin. Start with these five steps:
A fatigue policy works best as part of a complete driver safety policy. Our white paper, "Driver Safety Policies: Best Practices and Drafting Considerations", covers policy components and how to enforce them.