Talk:Drowsy driving

Latest comment: 8 years ago by Hordaland in topic Truck Driving Health Hazards


and it can impair the human brain as much as alcohol can

I really hate this sentence. It doesn't sound right with saying "can" twice

Feeling sleepy, or not having slept?

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I think it is possible to feel sleepy despite having had a full night's sleep - especially, when driving into snow and a low sun, for example. This is clearly hazardous, though responses as simple as tuning into a talk radio program often seem sufficient to clear it up. Conversely, I think it is possible to be deprived of sleep without feeling sleepy, as when shifting schedules or subject to jet lag. My suspicion is that even though there is no feeling that anything is wrong, this also considerably worsens my driving - it seems easier to momentarily lose track of what is being seen, or as if reaction time is slowed.

But is there any study data available about this distinction? The normal screens of volunteers deprived of sleep for the experiment just don't address the issue. Wnt (talk) 00:07, 9 February 2009 (UTC)Reply

There is some research about this issue, try doing a search on Google Scholar using keywords: monotony hypovigilance fatigue, and you should find some. Maybe worth adding a new section to the article? Although it's not strictly about sleep-deprived driving, it seems related (feeling tired while driving, or "tuning out"/on auto-pilot). It looks like there's some evidence that a nap is more effective than a walk or just stopping, even though you might feel more alert after a walk, so I think you're right - sometimes a person's driving might be affected even though they don't feel sleepy. Lowstep (talk) 00:11, 29 May 2012 (UTC)Reply

Suggestions for Improvement

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I think the Introduction portion of this article is off to a great start. The statistics enhance the introduction, but I also think there could be more of an explanation for each statistic. For example, what were the variables in each of these studies? Are there any possible explanations as to why the statistics turned out the way they did? Something else to think about is creating a section just for statistics and give more of a background for the introduction.

You may also want to consider reviewing your article for grammatical errors and coherency. The information is all very relevant, but it just needs some tweaking so it makes sense to any reader.

I think your subheadings (alcohol effects, military, physician reporting, and government intervention) are all very interesting and relevant. My only suggestion would be to expand upon each section. Are there any empirical studies you could add to these sections? Ultimately, I think this article has great potential and contains solid information for future research. LeahHarms6 (talk) 21:50, 1 March 2014 (UTC)Reply

Causes

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I doubt there's ever been any research on one cause being late-night television? Hillmon7500 (talk) 04:03, 28 April 2014 (UTC)Reply

Truck Driving Health Hazards

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There are several health issues in the profession of driving a semi-truck. Obesity and the lack of exercise can cause hypertension, diabetes, lack of sleep and get tired (Apos-tolopoulos, S¨onmez, Shattell,"et, al" 2009). This is just to name a few. Driving truck can be boring at times. To stay awake a driver can roll the window down, to cool off or listen to the radio. If they get too tired they should stop the truck and get a few hours of sleep. People in this line of business need to get a good night sleep which is tough. This is because it is noisy at the truck stops with the other trucks running beside them. A person does not want to stare at the lines of the road because they can get hypnotized if they stare at the lines and the road all the time. Therefore, the driver will need to look around once in a while.

Hypertension is partially the cause of obesity. This is an issue that many truck drivers have also. There are some that are more at risk than others. For example, the truck drivers who smoke or drink a lot are more at risk (the healthy trucker)

There are not a lot of things a truck driver can do to better their health while on the road. However, if they are laid over for a few hours, they may be able to walk or find a workout gym that is not very expensive to use. Another thing is to bring weights and lift while waiting to get loaded. The truck drivers can also possibly bring along an AC/DC refrigerator and store the healthier foods like fruits and vegetables for snacks and meals. This would help on the cost of the fast food also.


Works Cited: Shattell, MonaApostolopoulos, YorghosSönmez, SevilGriffin, Mary. "Occupational Stressors and The Mental Health Of Truckers." Issues In Mental Health Nursing 31.9 (2010): 561-568. Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection. Web. 23 Mar. 2016.

Amanda. "High Blood Pressure in Truck Drivers - How to Avoid Hypertension." 30 Jan. 2013. Web. 19 Apr. 2016. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Jillenabuch122 (talkcontribs) 15:49, 19 April 2016 (UTC)Reply


Those do seem to be valid points. Are you planning to put a shorter version into the article or do you wish that someone else should do that? I've found links for the works you cited:
For the first one (abstract only): http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20701418
and for the second, a blog post by "Amanda": https://www.thehealthytrucker.net/high-blood-pressure-in-truck-drivers/
--Hordaland (talk) 15:11, 20 April 2016 (UTC)Reply