Journal of Addiction Research & Therapy
Open Access

Research Article

Alcohol Consumption, Smoking, Job Stress and Road Safety in Professional Drivers

DATS (Development and Advising in Traffic Safety) Research Group, INTRAS (University Research Institute on Traffic and Road Safety), University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain

*Corresponding Author:

Sergio A. Useche
DATS (Development and Advising in Traffic Safety) Research Group
INTRAS (University Research Institute on Traffic and Road Safety)
University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain
Tel: (+34) 963 393 880
E-mail: sergio.useche@uv.es

Received date: April 06, 2017; Accepted date: April 24, 2017; Published date: April 30, 2017

Citation: Useche SA, Serge A, Alonso F, Esteban C (2017) Alcohol Consumption, Smoking, Job Stress and Road Safety in Professional Drivers. J Addict Res Ther 8:321. doi:10.4172/2155-6105.1000321

Copyright: ©2017 Useche SA, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use. Distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Objective: The aim of this study was to describe the prevalence of two addictive behaviours (regular alcohol consumption and smoking) among professional drivers and its relationship to Job Strain (job stress indicator of the Demand-Control model) and self-reported road safety outcomes.

Methods: The study sample was composed by 2445 Colombian professional drivers with an average of 38.01 years of age, a mean of driving experience of 15.81 years and, in average, 7.35 hours of daily driving. Participants of this study had a mean of 0.41 road accidents and 0.50 traffic fines registered in the last two years. It was designed a questionnaire composed by three sections: a) socio-demographic data, including items such as gender, age, and driving habits, b) Job Strain (JCQ), and c) self-reported habits related to addictive behaviors, in particular smoking and alcohol consumption.

Results: It was found that 20.3% of professional drivers have the habit of actively consuming tobacco, and 27.9% of drinking alcohol regularly. Furthermore, 28% of the sample presents Job Strain. Further, significant trends between smoking and: a) gender (i.e., being a male driver), and b) the fact of having Job Strain were found. Regarding alcohol consumption, two-step cluster analysis allowed to establish profiles of drivers when combining the fact of drinking alcohol regularly (or not) and the self-reported rates of fines and traffic accidents registered for the last two years. Finally, significant differences in Job Strain were established between drivers in both clusters, being the mean score higher for drivers reporting regular alcohol consumption and higher rates of fines and crashes.

Conclusion: This research suggests the need for the development of comprehensive interventions on psychosocial factors at work and lifestyle issues among professional drivers, based on the reported rates of the two addressed addictive behaviors and its relationship to adverse health, occupational and safety outcomes.

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