Hours of service regulations for professional drivers in continental Latin America

Abstract

Objectives: To describe the hours of service provisions in continental Latin America. Design: Information on regulations of service hours was extracted from either the national transportation authorities or ministries of transportation (or the equivalent institution) from each country. Setting: Seventeen sovereign countries in continental Latin America (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela). Participants: N/A Intervention (if any): N/A Measurement: Data on (a) limit on work hours, (b) mandatory daily time off (or rest), (c) overall schedule (mandatory weekly time off), and (d) daily breaks were extracted and summarized. Results: Of the 17 countries surveyed, 9 countries have provisions limiting the daily amount of hours of service for professional drivers. Ten have provisions for mandatory daily rest, but only 5 have explicit provisions limiting the number of continuous working days, with mandatory uninterrupted time off N35 hours. Eight countries have provisions formandatory breaks that limit the hours of continuous driving (ranging from 3 to 5:30 hours). Conclusion: Regulations that govern a population with 6 million injuries and over 100,000 deaths per year due to motor vehicle accidents leave important gaps. A minority, 6, of the countries regulated all 3 aspects; daily hours, breaks, and time off, and 3 regulate none of these. The regulations are less precise and restrictive than those in high-income countries, despite the doubled road injury mortality, and likely expose professional drivers and other road users to an increased risk of fatigue-related accidents.