Many transportation employees sleep-deprived

Many transportation employees such as pilots, train conductions and truck drivers are sleep-deprived on duty, a new US study warns.

The US National Sleep Foundation (NSF) poll found that 11 percent of transportation employees work while sleepy compared to the 7 percent who work in other sectors.

The study which included about 1,100 people older than 25 and working in different sectors showed that sleepy transportation workers were three times more likely to report job performance problems and had an average of about 45 minutes less sleep per night than their non-sleepy counterparts.

Many transportation employees reported their job schedules were the main cause of their sleep problems and sleepiness on the job.

About one-half of train operators (44%) and more than one-third of pilots (37%) report that their current work schedule does not allow adequate time for sleep.

About one-fourth of non-transportation workers and truck drivers (27% each) and one-fifth of bus, taxi and limo drivers (20%) also have the same problem.

Time off between shifts may have an important role in sleepiness of transportation employees. On average non-transportation workers had 14.2 hours off between shifts compared to 12.9 hours for pilots; 12.5 for train operators; 12.1 for truck drivers; and 11.2 hours for bus, taxi, and limo drivers.

The new study reveals that 20 percent of pilots commit a “serious error”‌ during flight while less than 20 percent of train operators said they experienced a “near miss”‌ due to fatigue.

Many transportation workers "are forced to work horrendous schedules, which put us all in jeopardy,”‌ said Joyce Walsleben of the New York University School of Medicine in New York City. “Too many societal tragedies have already occurred because of sleepiness.”‌

“It is exciting that we are finally able to see the statistics and hopefully do something to improve the situations for our transportation workers,”‌ she added.

Source: presstv.ir