Vigilance monitoring of professional truck drivers in Casablanca

Purpose of the study. Road accident represents one of the main causes of death and Moroccan roads are among the most deadly in the world. Truck drivers are to blame for many of these accidents and sleepiness is a principal cause. The purpose of this study is to evaluate among truck drivers vigilance problems, their causes and consequences and to propose preventive measures. Method. This transversal epidemiological study concerned 2134 truck drivers in Casablanca. We used an anonymous individual questionnaire comprising four sections: socioprofessional and sanitary characteristics of drivers, working conditions, sleeping habits, symptoms of sleep problems and favouring factors. Results. Drivers are a population at risk: excess weight (62.9%), toxic habits (smoking: 49.6%; alcohol: 11.8%; cannabisin: 12%), pathological antecedents (28.3%) and consumption of psychotropic drugs (3.9%). Their working conditions are difficult and sleeping problems are frequent. Daily working hours over 12 (50.3%), sleep duration less than seven hours (53%). Insomnia (36.5%), abnormally high Epworth scores and sleepiness when driving (68.6%) are important factors that cause accidents (6.8%). Conclusion. Information, education and communication oil the dangers of sleepiness while driving is necessary in addition to the respect of regulations on work duration. The extension of the occupational health system to this type of activity would allow an improvement in road security and protect the health of professional drivers and road users. (c) 2008 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.