The George Institute, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
BMC Public Health. 2010 Mar 26;10(1):162. doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-10-162.
Heavy vehicle transportation continues to grow internationally; yet crash rates are high, and the risk of injury and death extends to all road users. The work environment for the heavy vehicle driver poses many challenges; conditions such as scheduling and payment are proposed risk factors for crash, yet the precise measure of these needs quantifying. Other risk factors such as sleep disorders including obstructive sleep apnoea have been shown to increase crash risk in motor vehicle drivers however the risk of heavy vehicle crash from this and related health conditions needs detailed investigation.
The proposed case control study will recruit 1034 long distance heavy vehicle drivers: 517 who have crashed and 517 who have not. All participants will be interviewed at length, regarding their driving and crash history, typical workloads, scheduling and payment, trip history over several days, sleep patterns, health, and substance use. All participants will have administered a nasal flow monitor for the detection of obstructive sleep apnoea.
Significant attention has been paid to the enforcement of legislation aiming to deter problems such as excess loading, speeding and substance use; however, there is inconclusive evidence as to the direction and strength of associations of many other postulated risk factors for heavy vehicle crashes. The influence of factors such as remuneration and scheduling on crash risk is unclear; so too the association between sleep apnoea and the risk of heavy vehicle driver crash. Contributory factors such as sleep quality and quantity, body mass and health status will be investigated. Quantifying the measure of effect of these factors on the heavy vehicle driver will inform policy development that aims toward safer driving practices and reduction in heavy vehicle crash; protecting the lives of many on the road network.
重型车辆运输在国际上持续增长；然而，事故率居高不下，受伤和死亡的风险不仅限于重型车辆驾驶员，还延伸至所有道路使用者。重型车辆驾驶员的工作环境存在许多挑战；例如，工作时间安排和薪酬等条件被认为是导致事故的风险因素，但这些因素的确切衡量标准需要量化。其他风险因素，如睡眠障碍（包括阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停），已被证明会增加机动车驾驶员发生事故的风险，但重型车辆事故的风险以及相关健康状况需要进行详细调查。
拟进行的病例对照研究将招募 1034 名长途重型车辆驾驶员：517 名发生过事故，517 名未发生过事故。所有参与者都将接受详细访谈，内容包括他们的驾驶和事故史、典型工作量、工作时间安排和薪酬、多天的行程、睡眠模式、健康状况和物质使用情况。所有参与者都将接受鼻腔流量监测以检测阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停。
人们对执法工作给予了高度关注，旨在遏制过度负荷、超速和物质使用等问题；然而，对于许多其他假设的重型车辆事故风险因素的关联方向和强度，目前尚无定论。薪酬和工作时间安排等因素对事故风险的影响尚不清楚；阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停与重型车辆驾驶员事故风险之间的关联也是如此。还将调查睡眠质量和数量、体重和健康状况等因素的影响。量化这些因素对重型车辆驾驶员的影响程度将为旨在提高驾驶安全性和减少重型车辆事故的政策制定提供信息，从而保护道路网络上的许多人的生命。
