title: Sudden illness while driving a vehicle--a retrospective analysis of commercial drivers in Japan.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We performed a retrospective analysis of commercial drivers to clarify the background of incidents         of sudden illness while driving.
  
  
  METHODS
  The analysis used reports submitted by employers to the Japan Ministry of         Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism regarding commercial drivers who had been ordered to stop driving owing to         health problems.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of 211 cases with an average work history of 15.2 years, there were 88 bus drivers, 70 taxi         drivers, and 53 truck drivers, 36.0% of who had died as a result of their disease. Among taxi and truck drivers, more         than 70% of incidents were due to cardiac, aortic, and cerebrovascular disease. More than 80% of these were unable to         avoid traffic accidents caused by sudden illness. However, among bus drivers, cardiac, aortic, and cerebrovascular         disease accounted for only 23.5% of incidents, and accidents were avoided in more than half of the cases. The duration         between starting work and the incident time was significantly shorter among bus drivers [mean 3.3 hours, standard         deviation (SD) 3.1] than taxi (7.7 hours, SD 5.8) and truck (7.2 hours, SD 6.3) drivers (P<0.01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The         difference between the sudden illness rates of taxi and truck drivers and those of bus drivers is due to both reporting         bias and differences in the awareness needed to prevent disabling events while driving. As a precaution, physicians         should advise commercial drivers to stop driving as soon as they detect slight discomfort. To prevent accidents, more         assertive health promotion aimed at professional drivers is needed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Legal Medicine, Dokkyo Medical University School of Medicine, Mibu, Tochigi, Japan. hitosugi@dokkyomed.ac.jp
authors.forename: Masahito
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hitosugi
authors.forename: Sayaka
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gomei
authors.forename: Takao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Okubo
authors.forename: Shogo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tokudome
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D001334:Automobile Driving; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology; D003645:Death, Sudden / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies