The National Sleep Foundation (NSF) in the USA report that transport workers struggle with sleep.

The 2012 Sleep in America® poll is the first poll to ask transport workers, including pilots, train operators, truck, bus, taxi and limo drivers about their sleep habits and work performance.
The poll found that pilots and train operators are most likely to report sleep-related job performance and safety problems:

• About 1/4 of train operators (26%) and pilots (23%) admit that sleepiness has affected their work performance at least once a week.
• About 1/5 pilots (20%) admit that they have made a serious error
• About 1/6 train operators (18%) and truck drivers (14%) say that they have had a “near miss” due to sleepiness.
• Pilots and train operators are more likely than non-transport workers (6% vs 1%) to report having been involved in a car accident due to sleepiness while commuting.
• Almost 2/3 of train operators (57%) and 1/2 of pilots (50%) say they rarely or never get a good night’s sleep on work nights.
• Almost 1/2 of train operators (44%) and more than 1/3 of pilots (37%) report that their current work schedule does not allow adequate time for sleep.
• Only 6% of pilots and 47% of train operators say they work the same work schedule each day, compared to 76% of non-transportation workers.
• Pilots report the longest commutes with 37% saying it takes more than an hour to get to work from home.

More information about the National Sleep Foundation’s 2012 poll, including a complete summary of findings, worker profiles and examples of crashes where fatigue was found to be a contributing factor, can be found here.

Source: National Sleep Foundation, USA