Falling asleep at the wheel and distracted driving. The High-Risk Professional Drivers study.

BACKGROUND: Sleepiness at the wheel and driving while engaged in other activities are well known risk factors for traffic accidents. This article estimates the prevalence of these factors among Italian Professional Drivers (PDs) and their impact on reported driving mistakes. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted using anonymous questionnaires. PDs (n=497) were divided into two groups: high-risk PDs (HiRis_PDs) (those who self-reported more than one incident during the last 3 years and/or more than one mistake during the past year) and non-HiRis_PDs (subjects who did not meet the above-mentioned inclusion criteria). Logistic regression analyses were performed to assess the association of self-reported sleepiness and/or risky driving behaviour with the condition of being a high-risk driver. RESULTS: 161 (32.4%) subjects were defined as HiRis_PDs. Forty-one percent of the interviewees experienced at least one episode per month of sudden-onset sleep at the wheel. Twenty-eight point two percent reported a regular use of a hand-held cell phone. Predictive factors for being HiRis_PDs were: at least one self-reported episode per month of falling asleep at the wheel [odds ratio (OR) 5, 95% confidence interval (CI) 3.21-7.80, P<0.001], driving while regularly engaged in other activities (mainly hand-held cell phone use) (OR 6.11, 95% CI 2.90-12.84, P<0.001), and young age (OR 0.96, OR 1 year of age increase, 95% CI 0.94-0.98, P=0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Focusing prevention efforts on recognizing sleepiness at the wheel and on avoiding other distracting activities while driving can reduce the possibility of driving errors on the road by about 5-6 times.

Investigating obesity among professional drivers: the high risk professional driver study.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to detect the main individual and transportation factors associated with obesity and its prevalence among Italian professional drivers (PDs). METHODS: We performed a cross-sectional questionnaire survey. Data from PDs (n = 497) were used for analyses. RESULTS: Sixty-one percent of participants were either overweight or obese according to their body mass index. Predictive factors for obesity were traveling more than 40,000 miles per year (odds ratio [OR] 4.20, confidence interval [CI] 1.41-12.56) and hours spent behind the wheel per day (OR 1.27, CI 1.02-1.58). Bus drivers had half the risk of being obese compared to truck drivers (OR 0.45, CI 0.23-0.87). An inverse association was detected between educational attainment and obesity (OR 0.32, CI 0.11-0.90). CONCLUSIONS: PDs with high number of driving hours per day, miles driven per year, and low educational level should be subject to special educational programs to reduce and prevent obesity.

Workplace drug testing and alcohol policy in Italy; there is still a long way to go.

The effectiveness of workplace drug testing (WDT) in Italy has recently been questioned, while very little is known about the real consumption of alcoholic beverages among workers performing hazardous jobs, such as professional drivers (PDs). The aim of this study is to investigate the modality and frequency of WDT execution and of alcohol consumption in the above category. Anonymous questionnaires were used to collect information. Four hundred and ninety-seven questionnaires were collected; 50.1% declared that they know well in advance when they will be subjected to screening tests for drugs, while 19.5% claimed they have never been subjected to such a test. The greater the number of employees in a company, the greater the likelihood that the tests are performed with a genuinely surprise effect [odds ratio (OR) 2.41, 5.39 and 9.07, respectively, for businesses with 5-14 employees, 15-50 and more than 50, compared with companies with less than 5 employees, p < 0.01]. Twenty-one point four percent declared they drink alcoholic beverages during working hours or work breaks. This attitude is positively correlated with driver seniority [OR 1.07, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.03-1.11 p < 0.01] and is more common in those who operate on mainly international routes (OR 3.34 CI 1.30-8.59 p < 0.01) and only occasionally consume meals in restaurants (OR 4.27, CI 1.19-15.42 p < 0.05). Fifteen percent of the participants have an AUDIT C score ≥ 5. In conclusion WDT is largely ineffective, particularly in small businesses. The high percentage of PDs who claim to drink during working hours and who are hazardous drinkers requires a further strengthening of prevention strategies in this area.

Falling asleep at the wheel among Italian professional drivers (PDs): results from the HiRis PD study.

OBJECTIVES: A high percentage of professional drivers (PDs) often report feeling fatigue during their work, and falling asleep at the wheel (FAW) is a major contributing factor to the occurrence of near-miss or actual accidents. The aim of this study is to evaluate the prevalence of FAW among Italian PDs and the effect of fatigue on this occurrence (corrected for the main predictive factors already known). MATERIAL AND METHODS: We performed a cross-sectional questionnaire survey. Data from PDs (N = 497) were used for analyses. Logistic regression analyses were performed to assess the association of reported sudden-onset sleep at the wheel with working conditions and general lifestyle factors. RESULTS: Forty-one percent of the interviewees experienced at least 1 episode per month of sudden-onset sleep at the wheel (4.7% per week). Predictive factors of self-reported FAW were: age > 55 years old (odds ratio (OR) = 4.91, confidence interval (CI): 1.79-13.50, p < 0.01), traveling more than 40 thousand miles per year (OR = 1.86, 95% CI: 1.08-3.22, p < 0.05), body mass index ≥ 30 (OR = 2.16, 95% CI: 1.01-4.64, p < 0.05) and Chalder Fatigue Questionnaire score > 22 (OR = 3.93, 95% CI: 1.90-8.14, p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: There are different work and human factors underlying FAW among PDs. The Chalder Fatigue Questionnaire might be useful in measuring fatigue in this group and in detecting PDs at high risk of experiencing FAW.