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Prevalence of sleepiness in surviving drivers of motor vehicle collisions
Author(s) -
Crummy F.,
Cameron P. A.,
Swann P.,
Kossmann T.,
Naughton M. T.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
internal medicine journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.596
H-Index - 70
eISSN - 1445-5994
pISSN - 1444-0903
DOI - 10.1111/j.1445-5994.2008.01629.x
Subject(s) - medicine , risk factor , occupational safety and health , injury prevention , motor vehicle crash , human factors and ergonomics , sleep (system call) , physical therapy , shift work , poison control , alcohol intoxication , emergency medicine , medical emergency , psychiatry , pathology , computer science , operating system
Background: Although alcohol and recreational drugs are recognized as significant risk factors for motor vehicle collisions (MVC), the contribution of sleepiness alone is less clear. We therefore sought to identify the contribution of sleepiness to the risk of a MVC in injured drivers, independent of drugs and alcohol. Methods: A prospective questionnaire and examination of sleep‐related risk factors in drivers surviving MVC in a major hospital‐based trauma centre was carried out. Results: Forty of 112 injured drivers screened were interviewed, of whom approximately 50% had at least one sleep‐related risk factor, 20% having two or more. Of the MVC deemed sleep‐related by questionnaire, only 25% were identified by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau definitions. Shift work was the greatest sleep‐related factor identified contributing to MVC. Conclusion: Sleepiness, particularly related to shift work, needs to be emphasized as a risk factor for MVC. Australian Transport Safety Bureau definitions of sleep‐related MVC are too lenient.