1. Purpose

Plum Oak Pty Ltd (Plum Oak) operates passenger transport services across the West Kimberley, including remote on-demand and patient assisted travel work. Driver fatigue is one of the most serious hazards in our operating environment because trip distances are long, road conditions are demanding, and many trips begin or end in remote communities. This policy sets out how Plum Oak identifies, controls and reviews driver fatigue under regulation 14 of the Transport (Road Passenger Services) Regulations 2020 (WA) and the Work Health and Safety Act 2020 (WA).

2. Scope

This policy applies to every Plum Oak driver, every Plum Oak vehicle, and every booking dispatched through On-Demand Booking Service authorisation 1001091. It also applies to charter and PATS / WACHS work undertaken by Plum Oak drivers. Where a sub contractor or associated entity dispatches work on behalf of Plum Oak, the same standards apply and the arrangement must be recorded in the Reg 59 Association Arrangements register.

3. Why fatigue matters in our operating environment

Plum Oak’s drivers regularly undertake trips of more than 400 kilometres in a single shift, on remote bitumen and gravel roads, often early or late in the day. The Kimberley operating environment compounds fatigue risk in several ways:

• Long distances between communities (Fitzroy Crossing to Broome 392 km; Fitzroy Crossing to Halls Creek 290 km).
• Wildlife strike risk at dawn and dusk (kangaroos, cattle, camels), which both increases the consequence of micro sleeps and shortens the safe operating window.
• Wet season flooding which can extend trips unpredictably and force overnight stays.
• Limited mobile coverage outside of major townsites.
• Cultural responsibilities of Aboriginal drivers (sorry business, family commitments) which can shift sleep patterns and must be respected when rostering.

4. Maximum driving and on duty hours

The following are the maximum operating limits for any Plum Oak driver dispatched through ODBS 1001091:

• Maximum continuous driving: 5 hours, after which a break of at least 30 minutes must be taken away from the driver’s seat.
• Maximum driving in any 24 hour period: 12 hours.
• Maximum on duty (driving plus non driving work) in any 24 hour period: 14 hours.
• Minimum rest in any 24 hour period: 10 continuous hours, of which at least 7 hours must be sleep opportunity in a stationary location.
• Maximum on duty in any 7 day period: 72 hours.
• Mandatory full rest day: at least one 24 hour rest period in every 7 consecutive days.

These limits are tighter than the heavy vehicle Standard Hours framework where they overlap, and they apply to every Plum Oak driver regardless of vehicle class.

5. Rostering responsibilities

The Operations Manager is responsible for rostering and must ensure that no shift, when planned, exceeds the limits in section 4. The Operations Manager will:

• Build the next week roster on the Friday of the prior week, using the Plum Oak roster spreadsheet.
• Reject any booking request that cannot be fulfilled within the limits in section 4, even if dispatched through the on-demand channel.
• Re-roster a driver if the previous shift overran the planned end time by more than one hour.
• Maintain a fatigue related roster log so that compliance can be demonstrated retrospectively for audit purposes.

6. Driver responsibilities

Drivers carry primary responsibility for ensuring they are fit for work at the start of every shift. Each Plum Oak driver must:

• Attend each shift adequately rested. Do not commence a shift if you have had less than 7 hours’ sleep opportunity in the previous 24 hours.
• Notify the Operations Manager before the shift starts if you do not feel fit to drive. There will be no penalty or detriment for raising this.
• Take all rostered breaks at the time and place they are scheduled.
• Pull over and rest immediately if you experience any sign of fatigue while driving (heavy eyelids, micro sleeps, drifting in lane, missing turns, or unusual irritability).
• Keep an honest record of driving and rest hours in the trip sheet provided.
• Report any near miss caused or potentially caused by fatigue.

7. Identifying and responding to fatigue at the roadside

Fatigue is not always obvious to the driver experiencing it. The following warning signs require an immediate stop:

• Yawning repeatedly within 15 minutes.
• Difficulty keeping eyes open or focused.
• Drifting between lanes or onto the road shoulder.
• Missing exits, signs or scheduled stops.
• Inability to remember the last few kilometres driven.
• Unusual irritability or short temper.

On any of these signs, the driver must safely stop the vehicle, leave the driver’s seat for at least 30 minutes, take fluid and food, and contact the Operations Manager. If a safe rest cannot be obtained, the trip is suspended and the Operations Manager arranges a relief driver.

8. Long distance trip plans

Any trip planned to exceed 400 kilometres in a single direction or to extend across more than 8 hours requires a documented trip plan filed with the Operations Manager before departure. The trip plan must record the route, planned breaks, fuel stops, expected arrival, and any overnight rest location. Check in calls are required at no greater than 4 hour intervals. If a check in is missed by more than 30 minutes, the Operations Manager initiates a welfare check.

9. Health, medical and lifestyle factors

Drivers must hold a current Driver of Public Vehicle Authorisation (PTD) and a current commercial vehicle medical certificate. Drivers diagnosed with sleep apnoea, narcolepsy, severe insomnia, or any other condition affecting alertness must declare this to the Operations Manager and provide a fitness for duty certificate from a treating practitioner before commencing or continuing in driving duties. The Plum Oak Drug and Alcohol Policy (SMS Section 6.3) prohibits driving under the influence of any substance that impairs alertness, including prescription medications carrying a sedation warning.

10. Training

Fatigue management is a mandatory induction topic for every new Plum Oak driver. All current drivers will undertake a refresher session annually. Training is delivered by the Operations Manager and covers this policy, sleep physiology, the warning signs in section 7, and the trip plan procedure in section 8. Training attendance is recorded in the Driver Training Register.

11. Reporting and review

Every fatigue related incident or near miss is recorded on the Plum Oak Incident Report Form, reviewed by the Operations Manager within 24 hours, and considered at the next directors’ SMS review. The directors review fatigue performance at least annually as part of the SMS review. Where the review identifies a systemic issue (for example, a particular route generating recurrent fatigue events), the roster, route, or vehicle allocation is changed.

12. No detriment commitment

No driver will be disciplined, penalised or otherwise treated less favourably for declining a shift on fatigue grounds, for stopping to rest mid trip, for honestly reporting their hours, or for raising a fatigue concern about another driver or about a roster pattern.

Plum Oak Pty Ltd trading as Fitzroy Crossing Buses · ABN 91 468 462 378 · ODBS Authorisation 1001091. Issued under the Transport (Road Passenger Services) Act 2018 (WA).