The impact of medical cannabis on driving safety
Recruitment will begin Winter 2024
Cannabis impairs driving performance but most research involves recreational cannabis. Cannabis may not be dangerous for supervised medical cannabis patients (SMCPs) who take it with physician supervision. SMCPs are older, use lower doses of THC and may develop tolerance. This research will use a high-fidelity driving simulator to assess driving performance in SMCPs who use cannabis for common indications (pain, sleep, anxiety/depression). This study will examine 1) the long-term impact of medical cannabis by measuring changes in driving performance and cognition after initiation of cannabis therapy and 2) the acute effects of inhaled or oral THC. In addition, we will explore factors associated with driving and cognitive performance in SMCPs.
Understanding the duration and magnitude of driving impairment in SMCPs is relevant for SMCPs, healthcare providers and road safety groups. Knowing how often SMCPs have THC above legal limits and whether their driving is impaired is policy relevant. We will identify SMCPs at higher risk of impairment, elucidate the association between cannabinoid levels and impairment, and identify possible interactions between cannabis and other impairing medications.
This study is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.
The impact of 12-hour overnight shifts on nurses’ driving safety
Recruitment will begin Fall 2024
Driver sleepiness poses a serious risk to public health and safety with twenty percent of fatal collisions in Canada involving a fatigued driver. Canadian nurses are often scheduled to work consecutive 12-hour night-shifts, which leads to insufficient sleep and poor sleep quality. We will use a high-fidelity driving simulator to study the safety of driving after a series of night-shifts in nurses. We will also investigate factors that improve (e.g., sleep breaks, caffeine) or worsen (e.g., out of hospital responsibilities, more consecutive shifts, cancelled breaks) driving performance.
The results of this study will help nurses, hospital administrators, nurse unions, and regulatory groups understand whether it is safe for nurses to drive home after night-shifts. Identifying factors that improve or worsen driving performance will also inform preventive measures (e.g., sleep breaks while working a night-shift).
This study is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.
The impact of overnight shifts on Emergency Medical Service workers’ driving safety
Recruitment will begin Fall 2024
Driving the ambulance is an essential component of emergency medical services (EMS) work. EMS workers face occupational injury due to transportation-related events. This study aims to measure changes in driving performance in EMS workers following a series of consecutive 12-hour night shifts using a high-fidelity driving simulator and identify factors that exacerbate (e.g., sleep-related factors) or mitigate (e.g., rest on shift) the adverse effects of shift work on driving safety, especially those that are potentially modifiable.
Results regarding driving safety can be generalized to a broad range of shift workers, including occupational drivers working at night and workers who drive home after overnight shifts. Results regarding mitigating and exacerbating factors can inform strategies to reduce the incidence of transportation-related injuries and fatalities.
This study is funded by WorkSafeBC (Applied Innovation 2024).
Completed Research
Driving performance after an extended overnight shift in medical residents
Sleepy driving is a major road safety problem. The morning commute home after a long, overnight shift is a regular and potentially dangerous experience for medical residents. The purpose of this research was to assess the impact of post-shift sleepiness on driving performance in a sample of 30 medical residents.
Results. Decrements in driving performance were observed on 1) weaving within the lane, 2) unintentional lane boundary exceedances, 3) head-on collisions, and 4) speed and speed maintenance. There were no significant differences in reaction time. Results of this study suggest that medical residents are at elevated risk of motor vehicle accidents when commuting after extended overnight shifts and support the need for countermeasures that may reduce driving risks.
For more information, please contact us at driversim@ubc.ca.