Article Text
Abstract
Introduction In recent years, professional cab driving has seen a revolution with the advent of application based cab services, which are extremely time-bound. This poses a great burden on the service providers – the cab drivers. With over 70 000 vehicles running as cabs, a good number of accidents, road rage cases and traffic violations involve the same. The mental health of drivers plays a key role in the increasing menace on road.
Methods A cross sectional study conducted on 111 cab drivers between February to May 2017. Their distress level was measured with the help of DASS-21 (Depression Anxiety Stress Scale) questionnaire. Data was analysed using SPSS.
Result In the current study, 55.9% drivers worked for more than 12 hours a day, 31.5% worked on all 7 days of a week and only 39.6% get the required 8 hours of sleep on most days. Around 12% of the drivers have been involved in a road rage incident, 50% have been booked for violating traffic rules and 25% have been involved in minor accidents. Notably, one-fourth of the drivers are irritated while driving. It was noted that 53.2% had some degree of depression, with 19.8% having severe and 5.4% having extremely severe depression. Additionally, 36.9% and 32.4% drivers also had varied degrees of anxiety and stress, respectively. Pearson correlation test shows that DAS score increases as duration of sleep decreases. Significant association was also seen between the irritation of drivers and working hours of more than 12 hours (χ2 =8.76, p value=0.003).
Discussion Majority of cab drivers are suffering from physical and mental morbidities. There is a need to address to their healthcare status by the companies that have hired them. Rules should be made and implemented to regulate their working hours, incentives and holidays.