Daytime sleepiness and sleep habits as risk factors of traffic accidents in a group of Turkish public transport drivers.

AIM To explore the association of daytime sleepiness, sleep complaints and sleep habits with self-reported car crashes among public transport drivers. METHODS A cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out on male professional public drivers in two different cities using a validated, self-administered sleep questionnaire which comprised of symptoms suggesting sleep disorders, a subjective report of daytime sleepiness and driving characteristics. The subjects (mean age±SD, 40±11 years) were divided into two groups: (1) accident group and (2) no accident group. RESULTS Forty nine (15.3%) of the 320 public drivers reported that they had at least one sleepiness related motor vehicle accident and/or near-missed accident (Group 1). The mean age, body mass index and annual distance driven were similar in both groups. Although Group 1 reported less sleep time per night, more witnessed apneas, abnormal sleep, alcohol use and had higher mean Epworth Sleepiness Scale scores than Group 2, multivariate analysis of risk factors revealed that only daytime sleepiness increase the risk of traffic accidents [OR: 1.32 (1.19-1.47)]. CONCLUSION These results suggest that self-reported sleepiness is a predictive sign of traffic accidents due to driver sleepiness.