TY - JOUR PY - 2022// TI - Drivers' subjective perceptions of the contextual factors influencing fatigue: a qualitative study of suburban bus drivers in Iran JO - Work A1 - Khanehshenas, Farin A1 - Mazloumi, Adel A1 - Jalaldehi, Pourya Ahmadi A1 - Kaveh, Mahdieh SP - ePub EP - ePub VL - ePub IS - ePub N2 - BACKGROUND: Drivers' drowsiness is a significant issue globally known as a contributing factor to crashes in various transportation operations. Although there is evidence that suburban bus drivers experience drowsy driving, most previous studies are quantitative, which means that drivers experiencing drowsiness have not had the opportunity to explain their direct views and thoughts.

OBJECTIVES: This qualitative exploratory study subjectively investigates the contextual factors influencing fatigue among suburban bus drivers.

METHODS: Collecting data was conducted through 14 in-depth interviews with suburban bus drivers working in Tehran province's transportation system, Iran. The interview recording was transcribed by the research team and entered into the qualitative data analysis software. Two independent coders with qualitative content analysis and thematic analysis approach analyzed transcripts.

RESULTS: Four themes emerged, including human factors (with categories of individual characteristic and lifestyle), vehicle factors (with categories of design and performance), job factors (with categories of task requirement, quantity and quality of sleep, and circadian rhythm,) and environmental factors (with categories of the physical and economic environment). We found a more significant number of codes and categories and thus more contextual factors associated with job factors. The participants emphasized the importance of sleep deprivation, long driving hours, and even time of the day as factors influencing fatigue.

CONCLUSIONS: The study results can provide beneficial information for both ergonomists and car manufacturers in developing more accurate fatigue detection models and effective educational and technical interventions to maintain road user's health and reduce road accidents and mortality rates due to drowsiness.

Language: en

LA - en SN - 1051-9815 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.3233/WOR-210755 ID - ref1 ER -