Study examines nurse work hours and drowsy driving

More than 100,000 automobile accidents each year are attributed to falling asleep behind the wheel. A new study, co-authored by Linda Scott, professor of nursing and director of the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program at Grand Valley, found that nurses who work extended hours, work at night or obtain less sleep are more likely to experience a drowsy driving episode. 

The national study examined 895 nurses over a four-week period. The full-time hospital staff nurses completed log books on a daily basis. The study found that the majority of the reported 281 episodes of motor vehicle crashes/near-motor vehicle crashes occurred following shifts that exceeded 12.5 hours or shifts that were completed at night. Of the 171 nurses who only worked night shifts, 79.5 percent reported at least one episode of drowsy driving.

“Nurses who work at night are four times more likely to experience a drowsy driving episode,” said Scott. “In addition, the risk of crashes almost doubles for drivers working night shifts that exceed 12.5 hours in length.”

Almost two-thirds of the nurses reported struggling to stay awake at work at least once, and the study found that the likelihood of drowsy driving tripled when nurses experienced on-the-job sleepiness. Sixty-six percent, or nearly 600 of the nurses, reported at least one episode of drowsy driving and 30 nurses reported experiencing drowsy driving following every shift worked. On average, nurses reported experiencing an episode of drowsy driving one out of every four shifts worked.

“Fatigued nurses put themselves and the public at risk when driving,” said Scott. “Nurses should be particularly careful driving home from work or consider taking a short nap at the end of their shift before attempting to drive home to minimize drowsy driving episodes.”

The study was led by Ann E. Rogers, associate professor of Nursing at the University of Pennsylvania. Scott and Rogers worked together on a former study linking extended work shifts by hospital nurses to an increase in hospital errors. Their research on nurse work hours and patient safety has received national attention.