In recent years, there has been an increasing tendency for fatigue researchers to look beyond the laboratory and to better describe the real-world risks associated with fatigue. In those industries where fatigue is considered a common or significant risk factor (e.g., transport, healthcare and mining), sleep disorders and/or extended working hours have been linked with inadequate or non-restorative sleep.These, in turn, are thought to mediate increased sleepiness and lead to reduced alertness and elevated accident risk. The current study is based solidly in this tradition and explores the relationship, in Argentine truck drivers, between surrogate measures of sleep apnea, sleep duration, working hours and the principal outcome measure of self-reported (near) accident risk. In addition, this study also looked at the use and efficacy of common ‘in-cab’ fatigue countermeasures to determine whether they are associated with an increase or decrease in the likelihood of an actual or near accident. (Author/publisher) See also C 34528 fo.
Abstract