Do the Occupational Health Factors Affect the Road Accidents: A Survey of Heavy Vehicles’ Drivers in Iran

A driver's health status may have a crucial impact on the prevention of road accidents. This study was conducted to investigate drivers' health status and its effects on road accidents among drivers of heavy vehicles in Iran. A cross-sectional study was conducted to examine the health status of 200 heavy vehicle drivers selected via a two-stage cluster sampling approach from occupational medical centers in Tehran Province, Iran. The related data were collected using the standard drivers' safety and ergonomics questionnaire, body map work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) questionnaire, and drivers' medical records at occupational medical centers. Data were statistically analyzed by SPSS v.21 and Microsoft Excel 2016. Body mass index results classified 69% of drivers as overweight, and 19.5% as obese. 88% of drivers were stressed out and 35% were dissatisfied with their jobs. On average, 63% of drivers showed unsafe behavior while driving, and 80% had levels of WMSDs in 9 body regions. For the drivers with and without accidents, the mean and standard deviation values of hearing loss were 18.20±14.84 dB and 35.45±18.65 dB, respectively. In 79.3% and 75.9% of drivers who had accidents, respectively, their right and left visual acuities were smaller than 10:10. In 55% of the drivers, the status of the main pulmonary function variables was abnormal. The study group had high levels of fasting blood sugar (FBS), total cholesterol, and triglyceride, by 22.5%, 29%, and 26%. There was a significant positive relationship between the number of accidents and loss of hearing and drivers' age. There was also a significant negative connection between the number of accidents and visual acuity, respiratory health, exercise hours, safety, and health training. The results of the present study showed that occupational stress, unsafe behaviors, ergonomic factors, loss of hearing, visual acuity, high blood FBS values, weak respiratory system, and lack of safety and occupational health training were among significant contributors to road accidents. Hence, given the importance of heavy vehicle driving, it is suggested to check out drivers' occupational health and safety more often that ever.