Night shift workers should be advised of the hazards of drowsy driving and seek alternate forms of transportation after night shift work.
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‘Drowsy driving causes 20 percent of serious motor vehicle crash injuries resulting in hospitalization or death in the US.’
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It showed that six of the 16 participants experienced one or more near-crash events after working the night shift and seven of them had the test halted for safety reasons, whereas no such incidents occurred when the workers completed the test following a night’s sleep.
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Sleep-related impairment was evident within the first 15 minutes of driving, according to Monday’s study published in the US journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
“Even veteran night shift workers were vulnerable to the risks associated with drowsy driving, and exhibited reactions similar to behaviors observed in drivers with elevated blood alcohol concentrations,” lead author Michael Lee at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) said in a statement.
“A short commute for these drivers is shown to be potentially dangerous and the longer the drive, the greater the risk,” Lee said.
Charles Czeisler, chief of the Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders at BWH, and corresponding author of the study, called drowsy driving a major-and preventable-public health hazard.
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“Night shift workers should be advised of the hazards of drowsy driving and seek alternate forms of transportation after night shift work.”
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Source-IANS