Press Release

In a study involving 738 licensed, freelance long-haul commercial truck drivers in Buenos Aires, Argentina, results reveal a professional population exposed to significant accident risk.

The study results are published in the September 1 issue of the journal Sleep.

The drivers sleep for an average of 3.76 hours and drive an average of 15.9 hours per working day. Nearly 44 percent of the study group report experiencing frequent sleepiness while driving, but only 23 percent say that they slow down when sleepy.

“This situation places a strain on attention and driving performance and can be common in underdeveloped countries,” write the authors.
Statistical analysis shows that frequent snoring, daytime sleepiness, and reporting of sleepiness at the wheel are each independently associated with accident risk.

The drivers, predominantly overweight, middle-aged men, completed questionnaires regarding sleep habits, snoring, and daytime sleepiness, while also receiving a limited physical exam that measured such features as body mass index, neck size, and blood pressure.

Sleep is the official journal of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies, LLC, a joint venture of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society.