> [encourage night-shift workers to] take other modes of transportation, including public transit or ride-share services<p>It's not obvious to me that ride-share services would be materially safer here. It seems like many of the same concerns for night-shift workers in other jobs would also apply to ride-share drivers, added to the propensity for the flexibility of those jobs to increase the number of people driving ride-shares in addition to other full-time employment.
While physiological effects are doubtlessly a part of it, how much of the increase is just down to the fact that driving at night, when it is hard to see, is more dangerous? According to the NHTSA, the odds (per mile) of dying in a car crash at night versus during the day is... approximately 300%.<p><a href="https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/810637" rel="nofollow">https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/...</a>
In college one summer I worked on a car factory line, alternating between morning/afternoon and "late shifts" that ended around 11 PM.<p>I had to commute to the factory, and I felt my driving was dangerous in two ways. First, I would drive recklessly fast to get to my 6:00 AM shift start because company policy was that if you were late 3 times you were fired. Second, after my late shift ended, I would be driving home exhausted at night on quiet + dark 2-lane highways.<p>I probably had more near-miss accidents during this 3 month period than the next 15 years as a driver.
at a submarine watchfloor (the 'shore side' of submarine communications) we had a wild schedule: 5am to 5pm for two days, then 5pm to 5am for the next two days. Four days off after that, but then the cycle continues. I can't count the number of times I woke up several hundred yards from where I last was conscious - freeways, intersections, etc. Most of my coworkers had this issue as well. we finally convinced the command to go to a more normal policy, but this took decades.
Lack of sleep is a <i>huge</i> public health danger that our society refuses to take seriously so far.<p>I highly recommend the book <i>Why We Sleep</i> by Matthew Walker (2018) [1]. It goes into great detail how driving while tired late at night is no different from driving drunk in terms of resulting fatalities -- yet driving while tired is entirely legal while drunk will lose your license.<p>It's also terrifyingly eye-opening in the number of hospital fatalities from sleep-deprived doctors, surgeons, residents, and nurses with their extremely long shifts.<p>This is a conversation America needs to be having. Thankfully there are hard-won limits on how many hours a day drivers and pilots can drive and fly... but it's a <i>vastly</i> larger problem than just those professions.<p>[1] <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1501144324" rel="nofollow">https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1501144324</a>
Sleep apnea - it's weird how you often don't notice/understand it until an external observer who has seen it before tells you what's going on. You just feel very slightly more tired each day. You randomly microsleep without realizing. It's quite insidious. It's obviously very dangerous if you drive a car.<p>This area needs much more awareness (and tech-based
"disruption" - especially in detection, but also in making CPAP treatment more affordable and accessible).
For those of us who are naturally nocturnal but work day shifts I'm wondering if we're in the same risk profile by simply not respecting our weird but established circadian rhythms.<p>I naturally wake up at 11AM - 12 PM and have difficulty going to sleep before 3 AM. Having to wake up at 6:30 daily would be a comparable torture.
>> These remedies just aren't realistic for a large number of third shift workers.<p>Its difficult to explain to people who live in cities how different things are in the suburbs. There's no street lights or even Sidewalks where I live. There is No Public transportation in off-peak hours, none. And ride-share... with who--someone who lives miles away from you?? What about in the snow when its a bitch to just get your own ass in on time.<p>This the reality for millions and millions of people in the US.
It seems like analyzing fault here is important. Maybe driving late at night makes it more likely you will be hit by another driver (e.g. a drunk driver)?
Once I had an early morning flight to the airport and called an Uber. Sitting shotgun, I got to chatting with the driver. Asking about her day, she told me that she had just come off an 8 hour shift at the airport doing Fedex unloading. She was visibly tired. It was a stressful ride. :/
Sleep deprivation got so bad for me that I would nap in my car at a gas station halfway home. Park at the far end of the lot and set a timer for 20 minutes.<p>I no longer work nights.
I was working night shift at a factory and preparing a rave during the day when I fell asleep on my way home from work and crashed into a house. It cost my my drivers license for 10 months in Germany.
More accurate title: "People whose sleep patterns don't match up with their work shifts don't drive as well"<p>I don't know why this is surprising. Cognitive function is significantly impaired when you're sleepy.
> Study: Drivers who experience shift work sleep disorder are 3x more likely to be involved in a vehicle crash<p>This would mean (potentially) 200% higher risk, not 300%.<p>PS.: Further down a 300% additional risk is stated, but it's confusing at best.
Anecdatum: I have worked for 30 years at various jobs. Only two of those years was I working a night shift. I have been involved in one car crash that resulted in vehicle damage; it was when I was working night shift.<p>Interesting point: it was on my way _in_ to work at the beginning of the shift, so I didn't attribute it to being on night shift. Now, looking back, I wonder if the wonky sleep schedule was nonetheless a contributing factor.<p>Also: the Fates have now decreed that I'm going to get in a wreck next week.
If you have to drive tired, I strongly recommend getting a car with "Assisted Driving" functions.<p>Primarily for the Adaptive Cruise Control, which makes sure you don't crash into another car. The systems to keep you in your lane are also useful.<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_driver-assistance_systems" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_driver-assistance_sys...</a>
On my way to work i would drive past our regional research clinic and we all knew, that the nightshift nurses would drive out at 8-10° clock in the morning. So everyone local drove super-slow and carefully, while the non-locals honked.
Yes so you can choose these fantastic cars..
<a href="https://www.locardeals.com/best-current-sleeper-cars/" rel="nofollow">https://www.locardeals.com/best-current-sleeper-cars/</a>
An increased risk of cancer[1] makes this even worse.<p>[1]: <a href="https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/948449" rel="nofollow">https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/948449</a>
When I was in the military I was fascinated that they had us pull 24 hr staff duty which is pretty much secretarial work with no sleep and then expected to drive home afterwards.
Been there, won't do it again. nightshift DC:Op I crashed on the way home after finishing a 12hour 4on4off night shift pattern. And of course had to be on my last shift home.