Health status and safety behavior of Hazardous substance truck drivers at the 1st Thai-Laos Friendship Bridge checkpoint, Nong Khai Province

Abstract

This cross-sectional descriptive study was to explore the health status and safety behavior of hazardous substance truck drivers at the 1^st Thai-Laos Friendship Bridge checkpoint, Nong Khai Province. The samples were 67 hazardous substance truck drivers who were selected by accidental sampling and collected data by structured interview from March to September 2021. The results showed that all hazardous substance truck drivers were males with an average age of 43.9 years. The health status was obesity and overweight (74.6%). Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia were founded among drivers. The most common unsafe behavior was driving continuously for more than 4 hours without driver changes which exceed the law (89.5%). Followed by eating food or snack or water while driving (74.6%), being sleepy while driving (71.6%), and over the speed limit specified by law (43.3%). Results of the study of relations between driving behavior and accidents found that all driving behavior factors were related to accidents statistically insignificant (P-value < 0.05). By driving behavior that caused the most accident was being sleepy while driving 61.1%. Therefore, in order for employees to have safe driving behavior, law enforcement should be rigorous. Especially, changing the drivers when they are sleepy or tired while driving or after 4 hours continuously driving, they should take a break as required by law. Adding a system to monitor the fatigue of hazardous substance truck drivers and the mechanism for speed limit control and time period automatically. In addition, entrepreneurs of hazardous substance transport should focus on modifying the health behaviors of employees by using various interventions such as reducing obesity, adjusting eating behavior, and exercising to reduce health risks that may cause accidents.