Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study of all 88 government-funded primary care centers in the city of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. We administered a self-reported questionnaire to PCPs that inquired about their driving risk assessment for specific medical conditions.
Results: Among all PCPs and centers, 189 PCPs (63%) from 74 centers (84%) participated in our survey. The mean age of the PCPs was 40 ± 10 years, and 108 (57%) were men. The average clinical experience of the group was 13 ± 9 years. Fewer than half of PCPs considered diabetes mellitus (45%) and obstructive sleep apnea (46%) as potential risks for MVCs. Approximately 45% of PCPs did not notify any authority or relatives of potential driving issues that they noticed in their patients. Only 15% of the participants believed that PCPs were responsible for alerting authorities about their fitness to drive.
Conclusions: PCPs did not adequately assess their patients' driving history and eligibility. Efforts are needed to improve awareness among PCPs regarding the effects of chronic medical conditions on driving. 相似文献
Method: A total of 128 volunteer drivers in 4 age groups were asked to finish 2-, 3-, and 4-h continuous driving tasks on expressways, during which the driver's fixation, saccade, and blink measures were recorded by an eye-tracking system and the subjective sleepiness level was measured through the Stanford Sleepiness Scale. Two-way repeated measures analysis of variance was then used to examine the change in visual behavior measures across age groups over time and compare the interactive effects of these 2 factors on the dependent visual measures.
Results: Drivers' visual behavior measures and subjective sleepiness levels vary significantly over time but not across age groups. A statistically significant interaction between age group and driving duration was found in drivers' pupil diameter, deviation of search angle, saccade amplitude, blink frequency, blink duration, and closure duration. Additionally, change in a driver's subjective sleepiness level is positively or negatively associated with variation in visual behavior measures, and such relationships can be expressed in regression models for different period of driving duration.
Conclusions: Driving duration affects drivers' sleepiness significantly, so the amount of continuous driving time should be strictly controlled. Moreover, driving sleepiness can be quantified through the change rate of drivers' visual behavior measures to alert drivers of sleepiness risk and to encourage rest periods. These results provide insight into potential strategies for reducing and preventing traffic accidents and injuries. 相似文献
Methods: Participants were a random selection of 92 drivers traveling on a major highway in the state of Queensland, Australia, who were stopped by police as part of routine drink driving operations. Participants completed a brief questionnaire that included demographic information, sleepy driving experiences (signs of sleepiness and on-road experiences of sleepiness), and prior sleep habits. A modified version of the Karolinska Sleepiness Scale (KSS) was used to assess subjective sleepiness in the 15 min prior to being stopped by police.
Results: Participants' ratings of subjective sleepiness were quite low, with 90% reporting being alert to extremely alert on the KSS. Participants were reasonably aware of the signs of sleepiness, with many signs of sleepiness associated with on-road experiences of sleepiness. Additionally, the number of hours spent driving was positively correlated with the drivers' level of sleep debt.
Conclusions: The results suggest that participants had moderate experiences of driving while sleepy and many were aware of the signs of sleepiness. The relationship between driving long distances and increased sleep debt is a concern for road safety. Increased education regarding the dangers of sleepy driving seems warranted. 相似文献