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 >35 hours. Eight countries have provisions for mandatory 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.