Determinants of occupational environment and heavy vehicle crashes in Western Australia: a case control study

Objective: To determine the association between a heavy vehicle driver's work environment, including fatigue-related characteristics, and the risk of a crash in Western Australia. Methods: This case–control study included 100 long-haul heavy vehicle drivers who were involved in a police-reporte...

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Main Authors:	Meuleners, Lynn, Fraser, Michelle, Govorko, M., Stevenson, M.
Format:	Journal Article
Published:	Elsevier Ltd 2015
Online Access:	http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/10811

id	curtin-20.500.11937-10811
recordtype	eprints
spelling	curtin-20.500.11937-108112017-10-02T02:28:22Z Determinants of occupational environment and heavy vehicle crashes in Western Australia: a case control study Meuleners, Lynn Fraser, Michelle Govorko, M. Stevenson, M. Objective: To determine the association between a heavy vehicle driver's work environment, including fatigue-related characteristics, and the risk of a crash in Western Australia. Methods: This case–control study included 100 long-haul heavy vehicle drivers who were involved in a police-reported crash in WA and 100 long-haul heavy vehicle drivers recruited from WA truck stops, who were not involved in a crash in the previous 12 months. Driver demographics and driving details, work environment, vehicle and sleep-related characteristics were obtained using an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Drivers were tested for obstructive sleep apnoea using an overnight diagnostic device. Conditional multiple logistic regression analysis was undertaken to determine work environment-related factors associated with crash involvement. Results: After accounting for potential confounders, driving a heavy vehicle with an empty load was associated with almost a three-fold increased crash risk compared to carrying general freight (adjusted OR: 2.93, 95% CI: 1.17–7.34). Driving a rigid heavy vehicle was associated with a four-fold increased risk of crashing compared to articulated heavy vehicles (adjusted OR: 4.08, 95% CI: 1.13–14.68). The risk of crashing was almost five times higher when driving more than 50% of the trip between midnight and 5.59 am (adjusted OR: 4.86, 95% CI: 1.47–16.07). Furthermore, the risk of crashing significantly increased if the time since the last break on the index trip was greater than 2 h (adjusted OR: 2.18, 95% CI: 1.14–4.17). Drivers with more than 10 years driving experience were 52% less likely to be involved in a crash (adjusted OR: 0.48, 95% CI: 0.23–0.99). Conclusion: The results provide support for an association between a driver's work environment, fatigue-related factors, and the risk of heavy vehicle crash involvement. Greater attention needs to be paid to the creation of a safer work environment for long distance heavy vehicle drivers. 2015 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/10811 10.1016/j.aap.2015.11.023 Elsevier Ltd restricted
repository_type	Digital Repository
institution_category	Local University
institution	Curtin University Malaysia
building	Curtin Institutional Repository
collection	Online Access
description	Objective: To determine the association between a heavy vehicle driver's work environment, including fatigue-related characteristics, and the risk of a crash in Western Australia. Methods: This case–control study included 100 long-haul heavy vehicle drivers who were involved in a police-reported crash in WA and 100 long-haul heavy vehicle drivers recruited from WA truck stops, who were not involved in a crash in the previous 12 months. Driver demographics and driving details, work environment, vehicle and sleep-related characteristics were obtained using an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Drivers were tested for obstructive sleep apnoea using an overnight diagnostic device. Conditional multiple logistic regression analysis was undertaken to determine work environment-related factors associated with crash involvement. Results: After accounting for potential confounders, driving a heavy vehicle with an empty load was associated with almost a three-fold increased crash risk compared to carrying general freight (adjusted OR: 2.93, 95% CI: 1.17–7.34). Driving a rigid heavy vehicle was associated with a four-fold increased risk of crashing compared to articulated heavy vehicles (adjusted OR: 4.08, 95% CI: 1.13–14.68). The risk of crashing was almost five times higher when driving more than 50% of the trip between midnight and 5.59 am (adjusted OR: 4.86, 95% CI: 1.47–16.07). Furthermore, the risk of crashing significantly increased if the time since the last break on the index trip was greater than 2 h (adjusted OR: 2.18, 95% CI: 1.14–4.17). Drivers with more than 10 years driving experience were 52% less likely to be involved in a crash (adjusted OR: 0.48, 95% CI: 0.23–0.99). Conclusion: The results provide support for an association between a driver's work environment, fatigue-related factors, and the risk of heavy vehicle crash involvement. Greater attention needs to be paid to the creation of a safer work environment for long distance heavy vehicle drivers.
format	Journal Article
author	Meuleners, Lynn Fraser, Michelle Govorko, M. Stevenson, M.
spellingShingle	Meuleners, Lynn Fraser, Michelle Govorko, M. Stevenson, M. Determinants of occupational environment and heavy vehicle crashes in Western Australia: a case control study
author_facet	Meuleners, Lynn Fraser, Michelle Govorko, M. Stevenson, M.
author_sort	Meuleners, Lynn
title	Determinants of occupational environment and heavy vehicle crashes in Western Australia: a case control study
title_short	Determinants of occupational environment and heavy vehicle crashes in Western Australia: a case control study
title_full	Determinants of occupational environment and heavy vehicle crashes in Western Australia: a case control study
title_fullStr	Determinants of occupational environment and heavy vehicle crashes in Western Australia: a case control study
title_full_unstemmed	Determinants of occupational environment and heavy vehicle crashes in Western Australia: a case control study
title_sort	determinants of occupational environment and heavy vehicle crashes in western australia: a case control study
publisher	Elsevier Ltd
publishDate	2015
url	http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/10811
first_indexed	2018-09-06T18:46:33Z
last_indexed	2018-09-06T18:46:33Z
_version_	1610884939574673408

Determinants of occupational environment and heavy vehicle crashes in Western Australia: a case control study

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