Safety and Health at Work

Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute, Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency (산업안전보건연구원)
권호 표지
DOI QR코드

DOI QR Code

Working Conditions, Job Strain, and Traffic Safety among Three Groups of Public Transport Drivers

  • Useche, Sergio A. (DATS (Development and Advising in Traffic Safety) Research Group, INTRAS (Research Institute on Traffic and Road Safety), University of Valencia) ;
  • Gomez, Viviola (Department of Psychology, University of Los Andes) ;
  • Cendales, Boris (Faculty of Economic and Administrative Sciences, El Bosque University) ;
  • Alonso, Francisco (DATS (Development and Advising in Traffic Safety) Research Group, INTRAS (Research Institute on Traffic and Road Safety), University of Valencia)
  • Received : 2016.10.14
  • Accepted : 2018.01.15
  • Published : 2018.12.30
Download PDF
⟨ Previous Next ⟩

Abstract

Background: Working conditions and psychosocial work factors have acquired an important role explaining the well-being and performance of professional drivers, including those working in the field of public transport. This study aimed to examine the association between job strain and the operational performance of public transport drivers and to compare the expositions with psychosocial risk at work of three different types of transport workers: taxi drivers, city bus drivers, and interurban bus drivers. Method: A sample of 780 professional drivers was drawn from three transport companies in Bogota (Colombia). The participants answered the Job Content Questionnaire and a set of sociodemographic and driving performance questions, including age, professional driving experience, work schedules, and accidents and penalties suffered in the last 2 years. Results: Analyses showed significant associations between measures of socio-labor variables and key performance indicators such road traffic accidents and penalties. Furthermore, multiple linear regression analysis contributed to explain significantly suffered accidents from key variables of the Job Demand-Control model, essentially from job strain. In addition, throughout post-hoc analyses, significant differences were found in terms of perceived social support, job strain, and job insecurity. Conclusion: Work stress is an issue that compromises the safety of professional drivers. This research provides evidence supporting a significant effect of job strain on the professional driver's performance. Moreover, the statistically significant differences between taxi drivers, city bus drivers, and interurban bus drivers in their expositions to work-related stress suggest the need for tailored occupational safety interventions on each occupational group.

Keywords

References

  1. WHO [Internet]. Global status report on road safety. World Health Organization. 2015 [cited 2016 September 16]. Available from: http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/road_safety_status/2015/en/.
  2. WHO [Internet]. World report on road traffic injury prevention. World Health Organization. 2004 [cited 2016 September 16]. Available from: http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/42871/1/9241562609.pdf.
  3. INMLCF [Internet]. Comportamiento de muertes y lesiones por accidente de transporte. Colombia: Instituto Nacional de Medicina Legal y Ciencias Forenses; 2014 [cited 2016 October 20]. Available from: goo.gl/IcdqSG.
  4. Aronsson G, Rissler A. Psychophysiological stress reactions in female and male urban bus drivers. J Occup Health Psych 1998;3:122-9. https://doi.org/10.1037/1076-8998.3.2.122.
  5. Rowden P, Matthews G, Watson B, Biggs H. The relative impact of workrelated stress, life stress and driving environment stress on driving outcomes. Accid Anal Prev 2011;43:1332-40. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2011.02.004.
  6. Du CL, Lin MC, Lu L, Tai JJ. Correlation of occupational stress index with 24- hour urine cortisol and serum DHEA sulfate among city bus drivers: a crosssectional study. Saf Health Work 2011;2:169-75. https://doi.org/10.5491/SHAW.2011.2.2.169.
  7. Fisher J, Greiner B, Krause N, Ragland D. Objective stress factors, accidents, and absenteeism in transit operators: a theoretical framework and empirical evidence. J Occup Health Psych 1998;3:130-46. https://doi.org/10.1037/1076-8998.3.2.130
  8. Oz B, Ozkan T, Lajunen T. Professional and non-professional drivers' stress reactions and risky driving. Transport Res F Traffic 2010;13:32-40. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2009.10.001.
  9. Karasek R. Demand/control model: a social, emotional, and physiological approach to stress risk and active behavior development. In: Stellman JM, editor. ILO encyclopaedia of occupational health and safety. 4th ed. Geneva:ILO; 1998. 34.6-34.14.
  10. Landsbergis PA, Diez-Roux AV, Fujishiro K, Baron S, Kaufman JD, Meyer JD, Koutsouras G, Shimbo D, Shrager S, Hinckley K, Stukovsky MD, Szklo M. Job strain, occupational category, and hypertension prevalence: the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis. J Occup Environ Med 2015;57(11):1178-84. https://doi.org/10.1097/JOM.0000000000000533.
  11. Elfering A, Gerhardt C, Grebner S, Muller U. Exploring supervisor-related job resources as mediators between supervisor conflict and job attitudes in hospital employees. Saf Health Work 2017;8:19-28. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.shaw.2016.06.003.
  12. Johnson JV. Control, collectivity and the psychosocial work environment. In:Sauter SL, Hurrell JJ, Cooper CL, editors. Job control and worker health. Chichester:Wiley & Sons; 1989. p. 56-74.
  13. Chung YS, Wu HL. Stress, strain, and health outcomes of occupational drivers: an application of the effort reward imbalance model on Taiwanese public transport drivers. Transport Res F Traffic 2013;19:97-107. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2013.03.002.
  14. Greiner BA, Krause N. Observational stress factors and musculoskeletal disorders in urban transit operators. J Occup Health Psych 2006;11:38-51. https://doi.org/10.1037/1076-8998.11.1.38.
  15. Belkic K, Savic C, Theorell T, Rakic L, Ercegovac D, Djordjevic M. Mechanisms of cardiac risk among professional drivers. Scand J Work Environ Health 1994;20:73-86. https://doi.org/10.5271/sjweh.1417.
  16. Cendales B, Useche SA, Gomez V. Psychosocial work factors, blood pressure and psychological strain in male bus operators. Ind Health 2014;52:279-88. https://doi.org/10.2486/indhealth.2013-0156
  17. Tsai SS, Lai CH, Shih TS, Lin MH, Liou SH. High job strain is associated with inflammatory markers of disease in young long-haul bus drivers. J Occup Health Psych 2014;19:336-47. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0036600
  18. Cendales B, Useche SA, Gomez V, Bocarejo JP. Bus operators' responses to job strain: an experimental test of the job demandecontrol model. J Occup Health Psych 2016. https://doi.org/10.1037/ocp0000040. Advance online publication.
  19. Useche S, Alonso F, Cendales B, Autukeviciute R, Serge A. Burnout, job strain and road accidents in the field of public transportation: the case of city bus drivers. J Environ Occup Sci 2017;6:1-7. https://doi.org/10.5455/jeos.20170202074636.
  20. Tse JLM, Flin R, Mearns K. Bus driver well-being review: 50 years of research. Transport Res F Traffic 2006;9:89-114. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2005.10.002.
  21. Pace JF, Tormo M, Sanmartin J, Thomas P, Kirk A, Brown L, Yannis G, Evgenikos P, Papantoniou P, Broughton J, Brandstaetter C, Candappa N, Christoph M, van Duijvenvoorde K, Vis M, Haddak M, Pascal L, Lefevre M, Amoros E. Basic fact sheet "Heavy good vehicle and buses". European Road Safety Observatory; 2012. Deliverable D3.9 of the EC FP7 project DaCoTA.
  22. Landsbergis PA, Schnall P, Schwartz J, Baker D, Belkic K, Pickering T. Working conditions and masked (hidden) hypertension: insights into the global epidemic of hypertension. Scand J Work Environ Health 2008;(Suppl. l):41-51.
  23. Taylor A, Dorn L. Stress, fatigue, health, and risk of road traffic accidents among professional drivers: the contribution of physical inactivity. Public Health 2006;27:371-91. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.publhealth.27.021405.102117
  24. Vieira MC, Sperandei S, Reis AC. Physical activity overcomes the effects of cumulative work time on hypertension prevalence among Brazilian taxi drivers. J Sports Med Phys Fitness 2016;56:631-8.
  25. Useche S, Gomez V, Cendales B. Stress-related psychosocial factors at work, fatigue, and risky driving behavior in Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) drivers. Accid Anal Prev 2017;104C:106-14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2017.04.023.
  26. Arnold P, Hartley L. Policies and practices of transport companies that promote or hinder the management of driver fatigue. Transp Res Part F 2001;4:1-17. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1369-8478(01)00010-9.
  27. Azagba S, Sharaf MF. The effect of job stress on smoking and alcohol consumption. Health Econ Rev 2011;1:15. https://doi.org/10.1186/2191-1991-1-15.
  28. Useche S, Serge A, Alonso F, Esteban C. Alcohol consumption, smoking, job stress and road safety in professional drivers. J Addict Res Ther 2017;8:1000321. https://doi.org/10.4172/2155-6105.1000321.
  29. Ragland DR, Greiner BA, Krause N, Holman BL, Fisher JM. Occupational and nonoccupational correlates of alcohol consumption in urban transit drivers. Prev Med 1995;24:634-45. PMID: 8610088. https://doi.org/10.1006/pmed.1995.1099
  30. Collet C, Vernet-Maury E, Delhomme G, Dittmar A. Autonomic nervous system response patterns specificity to basic emotions. Auton Neuro Sci 1995;62:45-57.
  31. Lal S, Graig A. A critical review of the psychophysiology of driver fatigue. Biol Psychol 2001;55:173-94. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0301-0511(00)00085-5
  32. Hartley LR, El Hassani J. Stress, violations and accidents. Appl Ergon 1994;25:221-30. https://doi.org/10.1016/0003-6870(94)90003-5
  33. Underwood G. Visual attention and transition from novice to advanced driver. Ergonomics 2007;50:1235-49. https://doi.org/10.1080/00140130701318707.
  34. Griffin R, Huisingh C, McGwin G. Prevalence of and factors associated with distraction among public transit bus drivers. Traffic Inj Prev 2014;15:720-5. https://doi.org/10.1080/15389588.2013.867482.
  35. Cai X, Wang C, Chen S, Lu J. Model development for risk assessment of driving on freeway under rainy weather conditions. PLoS One 2016;11:e0149442. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0149442
  36. Morris RS, Mounce JM, Button JW, Walton NE. Visual performance of drivers during rainfall. Transp Res Rec 1977;628:19-25.
  37. Kontogiannis T. Patterns of driver stress and coping strategies in a Greek sample and their relationship to aberrant behaviors and traffic accidents. Accid Anal Prev 2005;38:913-24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2006.03.002.
  38. Guanche H, Suarez T, Gutierrez F, Martinez C, Pinera S, Garcia A, Cespedes E. Factores de riesgo de accidentalidad en conductores profesionales de entidades transportistas. Rev Cubana Med Gen Integr 2003;19:1-25.
  39. Biggs HC, Dingsdag DP, Stenson N. Fatigue factors affecting metropolitan bus drivers: a qualitative investigation. Work 2009;32:5-10.
  40. Yamada Y, Mizuno M, Sugiura M, Tanaka S, Mizuno Y, Yanagiya T, Hirosawa M. Bus drivers' mental conditions and their relation to bus passengers' accidents with a focus on the psychological stress concept. J Hum Ergol 2008;37:1-11.
  41. Af Wahlberg AE. Effects of passengers on bus driver celeration behavior and incident prediction. J Saf Res 2007;38:9-15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsr.2006.10.002
  42. Lee ML, Howard ME, Horrey WJ, Liang Y, Anderson C, Shreeve MS, O'Brien MS, Czeisler CA. High risk of near-crash driving events following night-shift work. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2016;113:176-81. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1510383112.
  43. Santos J, Lu J. Occupational safety conditions of bus drivers in Metro Manila. Int J Occup Saf Ergo 2016;22:508-13. https://doi.org/10.1080/10803548.2016.1151700.
  44. Gomez V. Assessment of psychosocial stressor at work: psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the JCQ (Job Content Questionnaire) in Colombian workers. Rev Lat Am Psicol 2011;43:329-42.
  45. Gomez V, Moreno L. Factores psicosociales del trabajo (demanda-control y desbalance esfuerzo-recompensa), salud mental y tension arterial: un estudio con maestros escolares en Bogota, Colombia. Univ Psychol 2010;9:393-407. https://doi.org/10.11144/Javeriana.upsy9-2.fptd
  46. Osborne JW, Waters E. Four assumptions of multiple regression that researchers should always test. Pract Assess Res Eval 2002;8:1-5.
  47. Williams MN, Grajales CAG, Kurkiewicz D. Assumptions of multiple regression: correcting two misconceptions. Pract Assess Res Eval 2013;18:1-15.
  48. Jones W, Haslam R, Haslam C. Measuring job quality: a study with bus drivers. Appl Ergon 2014;45:1641-8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apergo.2014.05.015.
  49. Desmond PA, Matthews G. Individual differences in stress and fatigue in two field studies of driving. Transport Res F Traffic 2009;12:265-76. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2008.12.006.
  50. Westerman SJ, Haigney D. Individual differences in driver stress, error and violation. Pers Individ Dif 2000;29:981-98. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0191-8869(99)00249-4.
  51. Ruiz-Grosso P, Ramos M, Samalvides F, Vega-Dienstmaier J, Kruger H. Common mental disorders in public transportation drivers in Lima, Peru. Lama JR, ed. PLoS One 2014;9:e101066. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0101066.
  52. DinCic N, Jovanovic J, DinCic B, Jovanovic M, Pesic M, Jovanovic JJ. Work stress related lipid disorders and arterial hypertension in professional drivers: a cross-sectional study. Vojnosanit Pregl 2013;70:561-8. https://doi.org/10.2298/VSP1306561D
  53. Raggatt PT, Morrissey SA. A field study of stress and fatigue in long-distance bus drivers. Behav Med 1997;23:122-9. https://doi.org/10.1080/08964289709596368
  54. Xu W, Yu H, Gao W, Guo L, Zeng L, Zhao Y. When job stress threatens Chinese workers: combination of job stress models can improve the risk estimation for coronary heart disease - the BADCAR study. J Occup Environ Med 2011;53:771-5. https://doi.org/10.1097/JOM.0b013e318222b0b5
  55. Tsutsumi A, Kawakami N. A review of empirical studies on the model of effortreward imbalance at work: reducing occupational stress by implementing a new theory. Soc Sci Med 2004;59:2335-59. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2004.03.030
  56. Probst T, Brubaker TL. The effects of job insecurity on employee safety outcomes: cross-sectional and longitudinal explorations. J Occup Health Psych 2001;6:139-59. https://doi.org/10.1037/1076-8998.6.2.139
  57. Clarke S, Cooper C. Managing the risk of workplace stress: health and safety hazards. New York: Routledge; 2003. 208 p.
  58. Parker D, McDonald L, Rabbitt P, Sutcliffe P. Elderly drivers and their accidents: the aging driver questionnaire. Accid Anal Prev 2000;32:751-9. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0001-4575(99)00125-6.
  59. Useche SA. Analisis de errores y violaciones de transito en los conductores de la ciudad de Bogota a traves del DBQ (Driving Behaviour Questionnaire). Rev Psicol Jur 2011;1:29-37.
  60. Eby DW. An analysis of crash likelihood: age versus driving experience. Ann Arbor (MI): The University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (US); 1995. 15 p. Report No. UMTRI-95-14/HS-042 105.
  61. Zwetsloot GIJM, van Scheppingen AR, Bos EH, Dijkman A, Starren A. The core values that support health, safety, and well-being at work. Saf Health Work 2013;4:187-96. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.shaw.2013.10.001.
  62. Couto MT, Lawoko S. Burnout, workplace violence and social support among drivers and conductors in the road passenger transport sector in Maputo City, Mozambique. J Occup Health 2011;53:214-21. https://doi.org/10.1539/joh.L10102
  63. Useche S, Cendales B, Alonso F, Serge A. Comparing job stress, burnout, health and traffic crashes of urban bus and BRT drivers. Am J Appl Psychol 2017;5: 25-32. https://doi.org/10.12691/ajap-5-1-5.
  64. Useche S, Cendales B, Gomez V. Measuring fatigue and its associations with job stress, health and traffic accidents in professional drivers: the case of BRT operators. EC Neurol 2017;4:103-18.
  65. Akerstedt T, Kecklund G, Alfredsson L, Selen JAN. Predicting long-term sickness absence from sleep and fatigue. J Sleep Res 2007;16:341-5. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2869.2007.00609.x.
  66. Sluiter JK, De Croon EM, Meijman TF, Frings-Dresen MH. Need for recovery from work related fatigue and its role in the development and prediction of subjective health complaints. Occup Environ Med 2003;63:202-6.6062i-70i.70i.
  67. Akerstedt T, Wright KP. Sleep loss and fatigue in shift work and shift work disorder. Sleep Med Clin 2009;4(2):257-71. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsmc.2009.03.001.
  68. Costa G. Shift work and health: current problems and preventive actions. Saf Health Work 2010;1:112-23. https://doi.org/10.5491/SHAW.2010.1.2.112.
  69. Raazavi T. Self-report measures: an overview of concerns and limitations of questionnaire use in occupational stress research. Southampton (UK): University of Southampton; 2001. 23 p.
  70. Crawford J, Henry J. The positive and negative affect schedule (PANAS). Construct validity, measurement properties and normative data in a large non-clinical sample. Br J Clin Psychol 2004;43:245-65. https://doi.org/10.1348/0144665031752934
  71. Thomas P, Morris A, Talbot R, Fagerlind H. Identifying the causes of road crashes in Europe. Ann Adv Automot Med 2013;57:13-22.

Cited by

  1. Work stress and health problems of professional drivers: a hazardous formula for their safety outcomes vol.6, pp.None, 2018, https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.6249
  2. Optimising the safety of road transport workers on IBS building construction projects: a review vol.15, pp.6, 2018, https://doi.org/10.1108/srj-09-2018-0240
  3. Psychosocial and Ergonomic Conditions at Work: Influence on the Probability of a Workplace Accident vol.2019, pp.None, 2018, https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/2519020
  4. Work Ability and Vitality in Coach Drivers: An RCT to Study the Effectiveness of a Self-Management Intervention during the Peak Season vol.16, pp.12, 2019, https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16122214
  5. Trait driving anger and driving styles among Colombian professional drivers vol.5, pp.8, 2018, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2019.e02259
  6. Phenomenology of being a safe taxi driver vol.19, pp.1, 2018, https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-019-8106-1
  7. Relationships between Body Mass Index and Self-Reported Motorcycle Crashes in Vietnam vol.12, pp.4, 2018, https://doi.org/10.3390/su12041382
  8. O trabalho no trânsito e a saúde dos motoristas de ônibus: estudo fenomenológico vol.38, pp.2, 2018, https://doi.org/10.15446/av.enferm.v38n2.81874
  9. More Than Just “Stressful”? Testing the Mediating Role of Fatigue on the Relationship Between Job Stress and Occupational Crashes of Long-Haul Truck Drivers vol.14, pp.None, 2021, https://doi.org/10.2147/prbm.s305687
  10. Predictive power of selected factors over driver stress at work vol.27, pp.2, 2021, https://doi.org/10.1080/10803548.2019.1613812
  11. Development of bus driving cycles using a cost effective data collection approach vol.69, pp.None, 2021, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2021.102854
  12. Identification of occupational stress factors of commissioning workers in nuclear power plants based on a bottom-up survey design and factor analysis vol.58, pp.6, 2021, https://doi.org/10.1080/00223131.2020.1858988
  13. The Complex Interrelationship of Work-Related Factors Underlying Risky Driving Behavior of Food Delivery Riders in Athens, Greece vol.12, pp.2, 2021, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.shaw.2020.10.006
  14. More than an apple: better lunch enhances bus drivers’ work performance and well-being vol.27, pp.3, 2018, https://doi.org/10.1080/10803548.2019.1662980
  15. Work intensification in the road transport industry: An approach to new working scenarios with automated vehicles vol.69, pp.3, 2018, https://doi.org/10.3233/wor-213517
  16. Gamification in freight transportation: extant corpus and future agenda vol.51, pp.7, 2018, https://doi.org/10.1108/ijpdlm-04-2020-0103
  17. Does Job Satisfaction Influence the Productivity of Ride-Sourcing Drivers? A Hierarchical Structural Equation Modelling Approach for the Case of Bandung City Ride-Sourcing Drivers vol.13, pp.19, 2018, https://doi.org/10.3390/su131910834
  18. Ten Years of Research on Psychosocial Risks, Health, and Performance in Latin America: A comprehensive Systematic Review and Research Agenda vol.37, pp.3, 2018, https://doi.org/10.5093/jwop2021a18
  19. Measuring job stress in transportation workers: psychometric properties, convergent validity and reliability of the ERI and JCQ among professional drivers vol.21, pp.1, 2018, https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-11575-1