The association between musculoskeletal disorders and driver behaviors among professional drivers in China

Abstract

The main objective of this study is to explore correlations between the severity of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and aberrant driving behaviors among professional taxi drivers. Questionnaires were administered to 162 taxi drivers in a Chinese city. Drivers with more severe MSDs reported more general and dangerous error behaviors and negative moods. Interestingly, MSDs affect drivers’ error behaviors through negative moods. The study also examined the effects of age, driving experience, traffic accidents, mood states, safety awareness and driving skills on aberrant driving behaviors. The results showed that age and driving experience were significant predictors of aberrant driving behaviors. Anger was a significant predictor of aggressive violations and dangerous errors. Additionally, drivers who reported higher levels of safety awareness also reported fewer aggressive violations, and drivers with higher levels of driving skills reported fewer dangerous error behaviors.

Keywords:

• professional taxi drivers
• musculoskeletal disorders
• driver behaviors
• driver skills
• Roland–Morris disability questionnaire
• profile of mood states

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 EUR 1 = CNY 7.5; USD 1 = CNY 6.3. (May 21, 2018)

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant number 51678211], [grant number 51578207]; Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities [grant number JZ2017HGTB0209].