ABSTRACT
Recentresearchreportedthatnotonlydidlessphysicallyactivecoachdrivers reportaneedforlongertorecoverafterwork,butthatthephysicallyinactivewere overtwiceaslikelytohaveanaccidentoveratwoyearperiod(Sluiter,VanBeek andFrings-Dresen,1997).Furtherevidenceisclearlyneeded,buthowcanwe understandsuchanassociationandwhatmechanismsmaybeinvolved.Couldsuch alinkhavecausalplausibility?Whileitmaybeepidemiologicallychallengingto showthatphysicalinactivitydirectlyincreasesriskofanat-worktrafficaccident, thepurposeofthispaperistohighlightanumberofwaysinwhichsucheffects mayexist,drawingonevidencefromavarietyofcognateareasofresearch, includingepidemiology,healthpromotion,humanfactors,occupational psychology,andexercisescience.Aframework,encompassingphysicalactivity, stress,psychologicalstate,fatigue,sleep,cognitivefunctioning,andhealthstatus, isproposedthatprovidesthebasisforfutureresearchwithdriversandalsoforthe designofevidence-basedinterventions(seeFigure17.1).Linkswithinthemodel arereviewed,andfocusonthreemainaspects,namely:(1)chronicandacute exercise,stress,psychologicalstates,anddriverrisk;(2)chronicandacute exercise,healthstatusanddriverrisk;(3)chronicandacuteexercise,sleep,fatigue, alertness,anddriverrisk.Finally,(4)researchandpracticalimplicationsfor worksiteinterventionsarebrieflydiscussed.
