Effects of insomnia on risky driving behavior among bus drivers: The mediating effect of mental health

Accid Anal Prev. 2023 Dec 7;195:107419. doi: 10.1016/j.aap.2023.107419. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTCrashes caused by problems with bus drivers' physical and mental health have increased in frequency in recent years. Insomnia, a common type of sleep problem, has significant positive relationships with both crash risk and mental health problems, especially anxiety and depression, which are themselves associated with driving behavior. However, few studies have conducted analysis on sleep-related problems and mental health exclusively on bus drivers, nor on how these problems influence driving performance. Thus, this study explored the effect of insomnia and mental health on bus drivers' risky driving behavior and evaluated the interaction of four variables: insomnia, anxiety, depression, and risky driving behavior. The survey-based investigation was conducted in a bus company in Suzhou, China, with 1,295 bus drivers participating. Insomnia, anxiety, and depression were self-reported based on professional mental health scales and risky driving behaviors were measured by the Driver Behavior Questionnaire. Two mediation models and a chain mediation model were developed to examine relationships among the bus drivers' insomnia, anxiety, depression, and risky driving behavior. Results revealed that (a) bus drivers less than 31 years old, drivers with more than 11 years' experience driving buses, and those with crash and violation involvement within three years demonstrated more sev...
Source: Accident; Analysis and Prevention. - Category: Accident Prevention Authors: Source Type: research